Winemaker Notes
This cuvee reflects a specific terroir and grape variety, as well as a hundred years of ups and downs - unstinting efforts, wars, etc... as well as years of joy and plenty. The century-old Grenache vines are deeply rooted in this mythical plot like no other, with sandy and red Comtat sandstone soil. Not only rare and unique, the resulting wine is indescribably... pure, as well as ethereal, delicate, elegant, fresh, natural, floral, silky, unctuous and absolute.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
From old-vine Grenache in sand, the 2018 Chateauneuf du Pape Pure is a full-bodied beauty. Fully ripe, boasting notes of black cherries, wild herbs and hints of dark chocolate, it nevertheless comes across as silky and almost airy on the palate, while showing real intensity and length on the licorice-tinged finish.
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Wine Spectator
A core of steeped red and black currant fruit, wrapped in licorice, shows nice intensity and focus, backed by light-handed apple wood and incense notes. A subtle sanguine hint curls through the finish, adding contrast to the tasty fruit, with a sneaky long finish. Drink now.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Coming from incredibly old vines and sandy soils located at the intersection of the Grand Pierre, Rayas, and Pointu lieux-dits, the 2018 Châteauneuf Du Pape Pure is as always 100% Grenache raised in a single, ancient foudre. This was a difficult vintage for the more sandy soils yet Julien has fashioned a beautiful wine that offers lots of strawberry and raspberry fruits as well as notes of spring flowers, white pepper, and sappy garrigue. Playing in the medium-bodied end of the spectrum, it’s nicely balanced, has silky tannins, and a beautiful sense of elegance and finesse. It’s going to benefit from a year or three of bottle age and cruise for a decade in cool cellars.
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.