Winemaker Notes
The wine opens with an intense nose of red fruit and crushed strawberries accented by floral hints. On the palate, it is juicy and delicate, with very fine tannins that extend a salty and fresh finish.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
A much smaller production release that's 100% Grenache from the Pignan lieu-dit (which is one of the best in the appellation), the 2022 Châteauneuf Du Pape Pix has gorgeous black raspberry and red-slanted fruits as well as notes of camphor, loamy earth, and ground pepper. It's medium to full-bodied, concentrated, has fine tannins, and a great finish.
Range: 92-94 -
James Suckling
Succulent, playful and driven, this grenache shows poise and vivacity, offering cherries, strawberries, warm herbs and some baking spices. Full-bodied with fine tannins giving a seductive, silky texture with gentle red fruit. Richer, flavorful finish. From organically grown grapes.
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Wine Spectator
There's a pretty, lifted character to this red, with floral elements hanging over ripe cherry, earth and light cola. Shows cinnamon and licorice snap notes on the broad finish, which is guided by velvety, suave tannins edged in warm graphite. A big, juicy version, with a bit of heat on the finish. Drink now through 2035.
With bold fruit flavors and accents of sweet spice, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre form the base of the classic Rhône Red Blend, while Carignan, Cinsault and Counoise often come in to play. Though they originated from France’s southern Rhône Valley, with some creative interpretation, Rhône blends have also become popular in other countries. Somm Secret—Putting their own local spin on the Rhône Red Blend, those from Priorat often include Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. In California, it is not uncommon to see Petite Sirah make an appearance.
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.