Winemaker Notes
Deep red robe and a delicate nose with aromas of milky black fruits and a vanilla and woody side. Soft and elegant attack. The intensity rises on the fruity then the vanilla / butter side with a rich and creamy finish.
Blend: 60% Grenache, 40% Mourvèdre
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape Renaissance is a bigger, richer wine based off 60% Grenache and 40% Mourvèdre. Deep ruby/purple-hued, it has rock star purity in its cassis and ripe blackberry fruits as well as spicy oak, roasted meats, toasted spice, and chocolate aromas and flavors. A more elegant, polished wine than usual, it already has some up-front appeal. It's going to integrate its oak élevage with 2-4 years of bottle age and should have 10-15 years of prime drinking thereafter. The purity and texture here are spot on.
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Wine Spectator
Dark and winey, with delicious waves of cassis, raspberry paste and plum puree coursing through, laced with licorice and tar notes that help extend the finish. Late flashes of singed anise, bitters and wood spice add an alluring echo. Best from 2023.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A 60-40 blend of Grenache and Mourvèdre aged in a combination of demi-muids and new barriques, the 2019 Chateauneuf du Pape Renaissance shows plenty of smoky, toasty nuances laid over the top of roasted cherries. Full-bodied, rich and velvety in texture, it finishes long, with overtones of mocha lingering on the finish. It's oaky now, but it should improve with short-term cellaring. Tasted twice (once blind), with consistent notes. Best after 2023
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.