Winemaker Notes
The Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge from Domaine de Marcoux is sourced from 13 different sites, allowing for a wine that is both dense but pure and lifted, with beguiling aromatics. In general, this wine is inclined towards red fruit flavors with a smoky stoniness that emerges with age.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Vibrant black cherries, mulberries, peppery herbs, and spice are just some of the nuances in the 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape, an utterly classic Châteauneuf du Pape that's medium to full-bodied, has the vintage's seamless profile, ultra-fine tannins, and a great finish. This beautiful, quintessential effort can be enjoyed any time over the coming 15 years or more. The 2020 is a normal blend of 80% Grenache, 10% Mourvedre, 7% Syrah, and the rest Cinsault, brought up mostly in concrete tank, but with 20% in tronconique tanks and 5% in old barrels.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Chateauneuf du Pape—80% Grenache, with small amounts of Syrah, Mourvèdre and Cinsault—features complex aromas of crushed stone, garrigue, licorice and ripe cherries. It's full-bodied but also lively and zesty, firm across the mid-palate, then softly dusty on the lingering finish.
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Vinous
Checking in at 15.5% alcohol, the 2020 Châteauneuf-du-Pape is a shimmering pale-ruby. It combines aromas of red and black cherry, blackberry, black plum, garrigue and white pepper. Full- bodied, elegant and wrapped in plush tannins, this 2020 red is well-balanced by refreshing acidity, closing with a complex finish.
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Decanter
Fairly light to start with on the nose and tight still on the palate – give this a few years to soften and relax. Good acidity and underlying freshness suggest this should all come together well in time and make for a vibrant, energetic style when ready.
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Wine Spectator
A dark, bold style that features black currant, cassis and plum puree coursing alongside warm earth, black pepper, tobacco and steeped tea. Spicy tannins take hold on the finish, with a whiff of tar and smoke. Grenache, Mourvèdre, Syrah and Cinsault.
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.