Winemaker Notes
The 2020 Domaine Chante Cigale Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc exudes aromas of exotic fruits and flowers white Mouth marked by its roundness, finesse and mineral finish.
Ideal pairings include red mullet fillet with flower salt and smoked eggplant compote, cooking Provencal and Mediterranean.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Beautiful lemon curd, toasted bread, spice, and white flower notes emerge from the 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape Blanc, a clean, medium-bodied, beautifully balanced white with loads to love. It's going to shine on the dinner table and should have 4-6 years (probably longer) of prime drinking. This cuvée is 20% each of Grenache Blanc, Picpoul, Bourboulenc, Roussanne, and Clairette, aged in a mix of demi-muids (some new), old barrels, stainless steel, and concrete eggs.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Equal parts Bourboulenc, Clairette, Grenache Blanc, Picpoul Blanc and Roussanne, Chante Cigale's 2020 Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc is medium to full-bodied with a slightly custardy feel, yet it remains fresh, offering a hint of fennel and gorgeous citrus and melon flavors, finishing long. Interestingly, I preferred this to the high-end Extrait bottling this vintage. Best after 2021
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Wine Spectator
Bright and fresh, with lilting acacia, lime zest and white peach notes filtering through prettily, while subtle quinine and verbena threads extend the finish. Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Clairette, Picpoul and Bourboulenc.
Full-bodied and flavorful, white Rhône blends originate from France’s Rhône Valley. Today these blends are also becoming popular in other regions. Typically some combination of Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier form the basis of a white Rhône blend with varying degrees of flexibility depending on the exact appellation. Somm Secret—In the Northern Rhône, blends of Marsanne and Roussanne are common but the south retains more variety. Marsanne, Roussanne as well as Bourboulenc, Clairette, Picpoul and Ugni Blanc are typical.
Famous for its full-bodied, seductive and spicy reds with flavor and aroma characteristics reminiscent of black cherry, baked raspberry, garrigue, olive tapenade, lavender and baking spice, Châteauneuf-du-Pape is the leading sub-appellation of the southern Rhône River Valley. Large pebbles resembling river rocks, called "galets" in French, dominate most of the terrain. The stones hold heat and reflect it back up to the low-lying gobelet-trained vines. Though the galets are typical, they are not prominent in every vineyard. Chateau Rayas is the most obvious deviation with very sandy soil.
According to law, eighteen grape varieties are allowed in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and most wines are blends of some mix of these. For reds, Grenache is the star player with Mourvedre and Syrah coming typically second. Others used include Cinsault, Counoise and occasionally Muscardin, Vaccarèse, Picquepoul Noir and Terret Noir.
Only about 6-7% of wine from Châteauneuf-du-Pape is white wine. Blends and single-varietal bottlings are typically based on the soft and floral Grenache Blanc but Clairette, Bourboulenc and Roussanne are grown with some significance.
The wine of Chateauneuf-du-Pape takes its name from the relocation of the papal court to Avignon. The lore says that after moving in 1309, Pope Clément V (after whom Chateau Pape-Clément in Pessac-Léognan is named) ordered that vines were planted. But it was actually his successor, John XXII, who established the vineyards. The name however, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, translated as "the pope's new castle," didn’t really stick until the 19th century.