Domaine de Marcoux Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2016
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Robert
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Winemaker Notes
The Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge, the bulk of the production at Domaine de Marcoux, is sourced from 13 sites spread over a wide range of terroirs. This allows for a wine that is both dense but pure and lifted with beguiling aromatics. In general terms Marcoux is always inclined towards red-fruit flavors with a smoky stoniness that emerges with age.
Blend: 85% Grenache, 10% Mourvèdre, 5% Syrah
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Crushed-mineral tones and heady garrigue mingle into rich, throbbing black-cherry and plum flavors in this wine. It’s a brawny, bigbodied red with a densely packed fruit profile and fine but fiery tannins. Hold till 2021. It should improve well through 2030. Eric Solomon Selections. Cellar Selection.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Noticeably darker in color than the 2015, the 2016 Châteauneuf-du-Pape is a bigger, richer wine and offers lots of ripe black cherry, currants and garrigue aromatics, full-bodied richness, substantial tannin, and a blockbuster finish. This 2016 checks in as 85% Grenache, 10% Mourvèdre and 5% Syrah, aged primarily in concrete, yet with 10% in oak tanks. Buy a case, you won’t regret it.
Range: 92-94 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Chateauneuf du Pape is a blend of 85% Grenache, 10% Mourvèdre and 5% Syrah, aged predominantly in concrete and foudre. Biodynamically farmed and traditionally made, it reached 15.5% alcohol, which shows a bit in the wine's size and slight warmth. It's full-bodied, rich and velvety, with bold black cherry fruit, hints of clove and cola and a long, savory-spicy finish. I'd opt for drinking it over the next 6-7 years.
Other Vintages
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In 1990, the Domaine became the first in the Chateauneuf-du-Pape to implement biodynamic farming practices. Their youngest vines are 40 to 60-years-old, and in short, the sisters do as little as possible to the harvested grapes. This domaine, as critic Stephen Tanzer put it, is "the essence of Chateauneuf-du-Pape."
In 2003, Robert Parker named Sophie and Catherine on his list of "Wine Personalities of Year," writing, "Over the last 12 years, the biodynamically farmed vineyard has risen to the top of Chateauneuf-du-Pape's quality hierarchy. The two red wines produced have been stunning, with the regular cuvée of Chateauneuf-du-Pape one of the finest in the appellation, and the limited production Cuvée Vieilles Vignes one of the world’s truly magnificent wines."
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.