Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
The Barberini cuvée is a tribute to one half of the original 15th-century owners of Domaine de la Solitude – Hélène Barberini, 17th-century descendant of an important family in Rome. Now run by the eighth generation, led by Florent Lançon, the grapes – selected parcels of old-vine Grenache, Mourvèdre and Syrah – are sourced from terraces rich in quartzite pebbles and clay. These contribute tannins and aromatics to the final wine, which is aged for 18 months in a mix of barriques, demi-muids and concrete tanks. Matt Walls: Polished noble woods; fine, fresh and polished on the palate. Lovely bright acidity and a real sense of focus and finesse. Tanguy Martin: Vegetal nose of red peppers and dried tomatoes leaves. Dry and firm palate, still with an intensity of tannins. David Round: Lovely nose, both expressive and refined, with raspberry, rosemary and black truffle. Complex wine with smooth texture, balancing minty freshness and very good length.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Just bottled at the time of this tasting and much more serious and impressive is the 2009 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Barberini. A blend of mainly Grenache but with a dash of Syrah, all aged in 45% new barrels, it is beautifully fruited and pure on the nose, showing copious blackberry and raspberry-like fruit characteristics to go with meat, saddle leather, spice, and licorice aromas. Just as good on the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied and brilliantly textured, with excellent balance, silky tannin, and a long classically styled, dry finish. It should continue to impress over the coming 12-15 years.
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Wine Spectator
This is a stunner, with all the dense, rich layers of raspberry, blackberry and boysenberry fruit the vintage typically delivers, laced with apple wood and licorice, but backed by extra graphite, black tea and ganache notes that sail through the superlong finish. Shows great density and balance. Best from 2015 through 2030.
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.