Winemaker Notes
Dark ruby, almost opaque in color. Full-bodied, freshness, smooth tannins, nice length.
Pair with red meats, sauce dishes, and soft cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
I loved the 2022 Châteauneuf Du Pape La Dame Voyageuse, a juicy, up-front, yet textured, nicely concentrated Grenache offering ample red and blackberry fruit, some peppery, herbal, meaty nuances, terrific purity, and medium to full-bodied richness. It brings more concentration than most and is beautifully textured and balanced. As always, this Cuvée is mostly Grenache and checks in as 90% Grenache, 4% each of Mourvèdre and Syrah, with the balance Vaccarèse and Counoise, aged mostly in tank, with 15% new barrels.
Barrel Sample: 92-94 -
James Suckling
Intense, wisely composed and vibrant blend of grenache, mourvedre, syrah, counoise and vaccarese. The nose if full of berries, cherries, dried herbs, wet stones and some crushed peppercorns. It’s medium-bodied with finely grained tannins. Elegant touch of velvet on the palate to the bright and succulent fruit. Agile and vivid with a similar finish. Long and driven. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification. Drink or hold.
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.