Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A varied blend of 30% Clairette, 25% Bourboulenc, 22% Roussanne and 20% Grenache Blanc, with 2% Picpoul Blanc and 1% Picardin, Beaurenard's 2022 Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc is a finely balanced, plump beauty, with hints of crushed stone, melon rind and lime on the nose, a softly creamy mid-palate and lingering finish.
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Wine Spectator
A beautifully alluring white, with acacia flower perfume followed by slightly honeyed citrus and yellow apple. Shows a savory bed of crushed flint that grounds the palate, filled out with fleur de sel and shortbread notes. Brimming with energy, this is well-balanced through the medium-to-long finish, which is flecked with grapefruit pith and smoke. Grenache Blanc, Clairette Blanche, Grenache Gris, Bourboulenc, Roussanne, Picpoul de Pinet, Picardan and Clairette Rose. Drink now through 2032.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Looking first at the classic 2022 Châteauneuf Du Pape Blanc, it has a medium gold hue as well as terrific orange blossom, stone fruit, and honeyed flower-like aromas and flavors. It's medium-bodied, has a layered, textured mouthfeel, nicely integrated acidity, and a crisp, mineral-laced style on the finish. It's a terrific white for enjoying over the coming 3-5 years or so. As normal, this Cuvée is mostly Roussanne, Clairette, and Grenache Blanc, but includes plenty of other varieties, aged mostly in stainless steel, with a tiny 3% in new barrels.
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.