Winemaker Notes
The entry-level Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge from Domaine de la Janasse is sourced from a wide variety of terroirs, totaling about 10 hectares, located in the northern part of the appellation and supplemented with a small portion of fruit from Le Crau. About 2/3 Grenache in most vintages, the rest of the blend includes varying amounts of Syrah, Mourvedre and Cinsault.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Ripe and suave in feel, with velvety waves of crushed plum, raspberry and red cherry fruit rolling through, lined with light licorice, red tea and incense notes. Long finish. Real crowd-pleaser. Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Cinsault. Drink now through 2032.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2018 Châteauneuf Du Pape showed nicely, with the more charming, supple, elegant style of the vintage front and center. Giving up classic Provençal notes of kirsch liqueur, dried strawberries, flowery incense, truffle, and peppery garrigue, it hits the palate with medium-bodied richness and has beautiful overall balance, silky tannins, and a great finish. It’s already upfront, complex, and drinking nicely, yet should nevertheless evolve gracefully for a solid decade.
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Vinous
Vivid ruby. Spice-accented red fruit and floral qualities on the nose, along with suggestions of garrigue, allspice and licorice. Lively raspberry, bitter cherry and floral pastille flavors steadily open up and become deeper and sweeter with air. The floral note carries through the clinging, energetic finish, which is framed by smooth, discreet tannins.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Now that it is in bottle, the 2018 Chateauneuf du Pape exhibits dark-fruit aromas of plums and blackberries, plus notes of cola, dried spices and licorice. It's medium to full-bodied, lacking a bit of richness on the mid-palate, but remaining velvety there and through the chocolate- and coffee-tinged finish.
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.