Winemaker Notes
#5 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2020
The parcels for this cuvee come from two lieux-dits located in the northern sector of Chateauneuf du Pape. From west to east are Maucoil (clay-limestone, pebbly, N exposure, 50-100m alt) and Bois Lauzon (red clay, sandy gravel sub-soil, galets roulees, flat 50m alt).
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2016 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Trois Sources is straight-up sensational and isn’t far off the more expensive Reserve cuvée in style and quality. Huge notes of blackcurrants, black raspberries, crushed violets, licorice, and incredible minerality, as well as a smoking floral quality, all soar from the glass of this full-bodied, seamless, pure wine that readers should snatch up. With good acidity, awesome purity, and a great, great finish, it's an incredible wine any way you look at it. Drink it anytime over the coming two decades or more.
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Wine Spectator
A lush, ripe style, with açaí berry, blueberry and plum reduction notes giving this a slightly exotic bent, while singed bay leaf, worn leather and warm tar accents keep this grounded in a slightly old-school way. Displays ample heft, yet energy ripples through the finish, accompanied by lingering garrigue and tobacco echoes. Best from 2022 through 2040.
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.