Winemaker Notes
This vintage offers great intensity, crispy red fruits, licorice, and violets. It has a long and ample mouthfeel. Powerful and structured, this cuvee reveals perfectly the sandy soils of the Domaine.
Blend: 60% Grenache, 19% Mourvèdre, 13% Syrah, 5% Cinsault, 1% Vacarrese, 2% Assorted Other Varieties
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
I was able to taste two releases from Julien Barrot. Looking first at his 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape Cuvée Julien Barrot, which is a blend of 60% Grenache, 19% Mourvedre, 13% Syrah, and a handful of other varieties, it sports a deeper purple hue to go with a fabulous bouquet of kirsch and blackberry fruits as well as licorice, crushed stone, licorice, and ground pepper. It shines for its balance and elegance on the palate, but still brings substantial fruit as well as structure.
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James Suckling
Rich and fleshy, but with excellent tannin structure behind it, this is a very impressive modern style Chateauneuf. Plenty of preserved cherry and black raspberry fruit with notes of rosemary and thyme. Lovely silky texture until you reach the firm finish, which promises many more years of life. A cuvee of 60% grenache, 19% mourvedre, 13% syrah, 5% syrah and 3% other traditional grapes for the region.
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Decanter
A tasting of two foudres and a cement tank that make the body of the blend point to a precise and fine style of this cuvée in 2020. A little lighter than usual, but enjoyably fresh and slender, with relatively modest levels of alcohol. The Mourvèdre was particularly good here in 2020.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Mixed cherries and berries, hints of roses and garrigue and a touch of dark chocolate may be found on the nose of the 2020 Chateauneuf du Pape Julien Barrot, a fine example of this estate's main bottling. Full-bodied and supple, it finishes long and softly dusty. Already approachable, it should continue to drink well for more than a decade.
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Wine Spectator
A bold, extroverted, spicy red, bursting with cherry, red currant and subtle cigar box. Delivers a pronounced thread of graphite that gives shape to the lush palate, with elegant but present tannins holding firm on the pepper- and spice-dusted finish. Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre.
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Vinous
Hinting at some reduction, the 2020 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Julien Barrot shows slightly less well than the 2019. Pale ruby-colored, it displays aromas of ripe raspberry, forest strawberry, red plum, dried herbs and a pinch of white pepper. Full-bodied, rich and refined, it concludes with a sapid finish.
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.