Winemaker Notes
Deep red robe, pulling on purple hints. Aromas of wild strawberry-raspberry on
the nose, with a spicy and toasted touch. Lots of gluttony. Fresh attack on the fruit, spicy notes that line the mouth and bring a sensual and chocolate finish.
A perfect companion to duck breast with figs.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
This is ripe, juicy and mouthfilling, with lots of enticing raspberry, boysenberry and fig compote flavors enlivened with anise, fruitcake and mulling spice accents. Shows good energy through the finish. Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre. Best from 2023.
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Vinous
Vivid ruby. Aromas of mineral-tinged red berries, incense and cola are accompanied by a floral nuance that builds as the wine opens up. Appealingly sweet and seamless in texture, offering juicy black raspberry, cherry, spice cake and licorice flavors that are braced by a core of juicy acidity. Finishes smooth and long, with even tannins and lingering floral pastille and spice notes.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The base 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape from Cristia is a terrific effort well worth seeking out. Black cherries, blackberries, ground pepper, orange blossom, and assorted spice notes all emerge on the nose, and this puppy is up-front, medium to full-bodied, and ready to go, with a soft, delicious style ideal for drinking over the coming 7-8 years.
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.