Domaine Paul Autard Chateauneuf-du-Pape (375ML Half-bottle) 2016
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Wine
Enthusiast -
Wine
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Jeb
Dunnuck
Product Details
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Winemaker Notes
This Paul Autard vintage is a balanced, elegant, deeply colored and vividly flavored Chateauneuf-du-Pape, due to the old vines' naturally low yields. It brims with fresh and pure dark berry fruit and notes of black pepper and chocolate.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This is a lavish expression of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, full of fleshy black plum and berry flavors but also prominent skeins of vanilla, smoke and peppery spice. It’s a rich sip, with plush acidity and finely knit tannins. The wine drinks well already but is penetrating enough to improve through 2030. A Russell Herman Selection.
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Wine Spectator
Ripe and focused, with a nice well of cassis and raspberry pâte de fruit flavors to draw on, while anise, singed mesquite and black tea accents skitter around. Sleek acidity carries the finish. Best from 2019 through 2030.
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Jeb Dunnuck
I loved Autard's 2015 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and it has more depth of fruit and texture than most. Cassis, toasted spice, garrigue and hints of vanilla give way to a ripe, sweetly fruited, sexy wine that has sweet tannin and a great finish. It's already a joy to drink but is going to keep for 10-12 years. The classic cuvée is 70% Grenache, 20% Syrah and 10% Mourvèdre that’s destemmed and aged in 30% new barrels.
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The story of the Autard family is the story of all great appellations, in that it is the story of the evolution of expertise -- the sum of first-hand experiences, observations, experiments, inventions, and discoveries, in this case specific to Chateauneuf-du-Pape, and the Autard property in particular -- as it is passed down from generation to generation.
The Autard family effort began in Courthézon, with an old farm-turned-vineyard; then in 2005 the enterprise took a giant step forward, with the construction of a new cave that permits vast improvements at every stage in the winemaking cycle.
The Autard family effort began in Courthézon, with an old farm-turned-vineyard; then in 2005 the enterprise took a giant step forward, with the construction of a new cave that permits vast improvements at every stage in the winemaking cycle.In any undertaking that spans the generations, it is connoisseurship -- in the case of winemaking, a multiple matter of climate, land, vines, tools, and techniques -- that is the cornerstone...
Jean-Paul, as the heir of this expertise, brings to it his own ideas and intuitions, in order to enhance as well as perpetuate the Autard domaine’s well-deserved prestige. Jean-Paul, as the heir of this expertise, brings to it his own ideas and intuitions, in order to enhance as well as perpetuate the Autard domaine’s well-deserved prestige.
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.