Winemaker Notes
Domaine de Beaurenard's flagship wine is a quintessential blend, reflecting all the diversity of the terroir and the perfect synergy that exists between the soils and the grapes. It offers a supple and refined texture associated with a delicate aromatic palette that is the result of a constant quest for freshness.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Chateauneuf du Pape is just as tasty as the Boisrenard special cuvée this vintage, with very similar notes of black raspberries, black olives and garrigue. Perhaps a bit lighter-bodied (still medium to full-bodied), it's a touch creamy on the mid-palate, then adds hints of dark chocolate on the supple, lingering finish. The assemblage here is less Grenache-heavy (65%), with 15% Syrah, 10% Mourvèdre and small amounts of other permitted varieties.
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James Suckling
Here’s a very well structured Chateauneuf for the challenging 2021 vintage with complex wild herb and berry aromas. Only medium-bodied for the appellation, but with healthy tannins and a positive mineral acidity that drives the long clean finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
Deep aromas of fig, black licorice,fennel, rose petal, cocoa powder and forest floor meldinto a brooding nose. The palate is rich and savory, withrustic tannins that draw in notes of blood orange, sanguine and cured meat before a long, bitter-chocolatefinish. Built for meaty pairings especially Provençalsausages.
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Wine Spectator
A pure, focused style, with generous raspberry ganache and red licorice flavors that are juicy, inviting and well-framed by finely sculpted tannins and graphite shavings. Full-bodied without being heavy, with black pepper, wild herbs and mesquite playing out on the fresh, structured finish. Grenache. Drink now through 2035.
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Jeb Dunnuck
A beautiful wine, the 2021 Châteauneuf Du Pape has a deeper ruby hue to go with Burgundian aromatics of ripe red and black berries, sappy underbrush, exotic flowers, and an undeniable sense of minerality. It's balanced, medium-bodied, has good mid-palate depth, and gorgeously integrated structure that emerges with time in the glass. It's not a powerhouse, but it has a layered, complete, seamless profile that's going to evolve gracefully over the coming 15 years. The classic Cuvée is 65% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 10% Mourvèdre, and the rest a mix of permitted varieties, partially destemmed, and aged in a mix of foudre, tank, and barrels, with a tiny percentage in new oak.
The Coulons have estate-bottled their wines since the early 1900’s. Paul Coulon's father and grandfather were instrumental in creating the regulations of the Appellation Contrôlée system (Chateauneuf du Pape was France's first appellation contrôlée, in 1929). Detail oriented, meticulous to the point of perfectionism, visitors can peruse not only the informative Musée du Vin below their Rasteau vineyard, but detailed volumes for each vintage with ground temperatures, rainfall, hours of sunlight, etc.
Domaine de Beaurenard portfolio includes: Cotes du Rhone Rouge & Rose, Cotes du Rhone Villages Rasteau, Chateauneuf du Pape Rouge & Blanc and Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Boisrenard which is consistently one of Robert Parker and Stephen Tanzer's most highly rated Rhone wines.
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.