Winemaker Notes
Blend: 90% Grenache, 4% Mourvedre, 4% Syrah, 2% Other
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A candidate for perfection, the 2010 Chateauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes, which achieved 16% natural alcohol, possesses an inky/purple color. It is slightly tighter and more restrained than the 2010 Chaupin, but it has enormous volume as well as incredible glycerin, richness and fat. A huge bouquet of pure blackberry and black currant fruit intermixed with charcoal, incense, truffles and spring flowers is followed by a prodigious, full-bodied wine that is capable of 20+ years of evolution. I hope Chateauneuf du Pape enthusiasts can find some of this amazing wine!
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Vinous
The 2010 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes is sensational, bursting from the glass with scents of lavender, spice box, black cherry compote, dried violets, licorice and cured meat. Hitting the full-bodied palate with remarkable elegance, all the individual components of the 2010 Vieilles Vignes are neatly put in place, making for spot-on balance and a harmonious character. Walking off the stage with a long and savory finish.
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Wine Spectator
Dark and rich, with lush, fleshy layers of warm fig paste, blueberry coulis, bittersweet ganache and licorice root. A dark undertow of Turkish coffee rumbles through the finish. Shows plenty of muscular grip, and will need considerable cellaring to settle in fully.
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.