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.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The normal blend of 70% Grenache, 15% Syrah, and the rest a mix of varieties, the 2022 Châteauneuf Du Pape is deeper ruby-hued and offers a killer perfume of red and black fruits, flowery incense, Provençal garrigue, and spice. Medium to full-bodied, with a terrific sense of elegance and ripe tannins, it's very much in the pure, elegant, seamless style of the vintage and has so much to love. Drink bottles over the coming 10-12 years.
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Wine Spectator
A great example of a ripe, luscious and opulent Châteauneuf that still shows great pedigree and freshness. Caressing yet upright tannins support juicy cherry, licorice and wild herb flavors, all powered by a graphite beam. Shows impressive fruit purity nicely unadorned by oak. There's a slight chalky feel to the finish, which spills out, with good length. Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Cinsault. Drink now through 2035.
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James Suckling
Full nose of red plums and candied oranges with notes of cinnamon and allspice. Rich, full-bodied palate with plenty of powdery tannins that gently build through the long, moderately firm finish.
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Vinous
Orange blossom, raspberry, strawberry, licorice and thyme introduce the delicious 2022 Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Inviting and glossy, the full-bodied 2022 neatly maintains its freshness and concludes with a juicy and polished finish—a crowd-pleaser.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 Chateauneuf du Pape from Janasse unfurls aromas of flowers, dark cherries and garrigue, followed by a medium-bodied, enveloping and juicy palate with bright acids, a round, elegant mid-palate and a long but a bit firm finish. Composed of 65% Grenache Noir, 20% Syrah, 10% Mourvèdre and 5% Cinsault, this wine is poised to become a classic. It matured for 12 months in foudres (80%) and used barrels (20%).
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.