Winemaker Notes
Deep red-cherry color. The nose is harmonious mixing floral and fruit aromas with a touch of licorice. The attack is balanced and lively, the tannins powerful and ripe. Long intense fruit and aromatic finish.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Lovely raspberry and blackberry purée notes stream through here, with anise, black tea and mineral notes keeping pace throughout. Silky in feel and lengthy on the finish, with the fruit echoing. Drink now.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Moving to the 2018s from bottle and based on 85% Grenache and 15% Syrah brought up mostly in tank, the 2018 Châteauneuf Du Pape sports a deep ruby/purple color as well as a classic bouquet of black cherries, black licorice, spice, and a touch of Provençal garrigue. It’s medium to full-bodied, has a beautiful texture, the upfront, front end-loaded style of the vintage, and should be drunk in the first decade of life or so.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Cristia's 2018 Chateauneuf du Pape boasts scents of cola, garrigue, raspberries and black cherries. Mainly tank-aged Grenache, with small amounts of barrel-aged Mourvèdre and Syrah, it's medium to full-bodied, moderately concentrated and dusted with ripe tannins. The house style is one of sandy-soil elegance, and that's reflected in this entry-level cuvée, which finishes long and silky.
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.