Winemaker Notes
#79 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2024
The estate's flagship cuvée, always at the top of international rankings. The robe is dark with purple reflections. On the nose, the still discreet aromas of crushed black fruits and garrigue are just waiting to melt into a noble and fresh substance, to reveal finesse and elegance on the palate.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
This powerhouse unleashes rich waves of black licorice, cherry paste and spiced plum. Shows impressive texture and energy, with black tea tannins bringing good form to the simmering, opulent palate. Grilled cedar, anise and smoke notes round out the concentrated finish; a hedonist's red for sure, this nevertheless shows real integrity and balance. Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre. Best from 2026 through 2040.
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James Suckling
Quite an opulent expression of Chateauneuf, with a nose of preserved cherries, spices and bitter chocolate. Powerful and highly structured on the full-bodied palate. The long, bold finish is packed with bitter chocolate, caramel and an array of spices. Excellent aging potential, but already delicious. A cuvee with a majority of grenache plus some syrah and mourvedre. Drinkable now, but best from 2025.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 Chateauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes, a blend of 85% Grenache Noir, 5% Syrah, 5% Mourvèdre and 5% of unknown authorized varieties, offers up aromas of flowers, dark cherries, garrigue and licorice. Medium to full-bodied, concentrated and structured, it has a fleshy core of fruit with a long, fruity finish; however, it also has a strict, firm aftertaste, and there is some concern that the structured, assertive tannins may not fully integrate, even with extended aging.
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Vinous
The 2022 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes is as concentrated and dense as one would expect from this full-throttle cuvée, but this is one instance where I prefer the 2021 vintage over the 2022. Pronounced licorice, red and black cherry, ripe strawberry and garrigue notes are all pushed forward here. The massive tannic core provides ample structure but demands at least until 2030 to integrate into the wine. Although impressively powerful and deeply layered, the 2022 doesn’t strike me as a superstar, at least not on this occasion.
Rating: 93+
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.