Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Jeb Dunnuck
My favorite of the lineup, the 2022 Châteauneuf Du Pape Cuvée Vieilles Vignes brings a beautiful floral character as well as ample wild strawberry and cherry fruit, medium to full-bodied richness, a pure, layered mouthfeel, and ultra-fine tannins. As with the Mourre de Perdrix, it’s elegant and seamless, as well as concentrated, and brings a boatload of sweet fruit. The blend is 95% Grenache and 5% Mourvèdre that’s from a mix of the Coudoulet, La Crau, and Cristia lieux-dits, brought up in demi-muid and concrete. Don't miss it.
-
Vinous
Strawberry jam, melted licorice, spicebox and black cherry compote define the complex aromatic profile of the 2022 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Vieilles Vignes. Full-bodied, concentrated and full of energy, the expressive 2022 is such a gorgeous Vieilles Vignes that deserves to be discovered. It finishes long and rounded.
-
Wine Spectator
Glossy in feel, this is seductive and ripe, with plum reduction draped in melted licorice. Meaty tannins move in, nicely lacing up the ripeness. Licorice snap and incense play out on the delicious finish. Grenache and Mourvèdre.
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.