Winemaker Notes
The Cuvée A Tempo Blanc, from biodynamic viticulture, was settled as Da Capo's little sister. This cuvée highlights a white wine worked under the osmosis of a traditional Châteauneuf-du-Pape wine making process with a touch of Burgundy style. A blend of three major grape varieties on the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation, the Cuvée A Tempo reveals the expression of Roussanne, Clairette and Grenache Blanc vinified in concrete and sandstone eggs blend with a three year old barrel.
Light and clear gold in color with a nose of white flowers like honeysuckle, peach, jasmine and tea. Lively, mineral, and dense with length.
Pairs well with pasta and scallops, lobster and various shellfish cooked with cream and truffles.
Blend: 34% Grenache Blanc, 33% Clairette, 33% Roussanne
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Châteauneuf du Pape Blanc Cuvée A Tempo spent 12 months in an eclectic mix of vessels: a 600-liter concrete egg, a 225-liter ceramic egg and two older barriques. Faintly nutty accents (almond?) appear on the nose, backed by white peach and tangerine fruit. Medium to full-bodied, it's dense, compact and complex, adding hints of pine resin and poached pear on the lingering finish. It should age magnificently.
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Vinous
The dazzling 2021 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Cuvée A Tempo unfurls with ripe stone and citrus fruits paired with melon nuances. Spring blossom notes offer an enticing floral lift. Fragrant and refined, the 2021 has come together quite well.
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James Suckling
A lovely nose of stone fruits, fresh citron, rosemary, fresh leaves and hints of dried earth. It’s medium-bodied with bright acidity. Precise and very refreshing with good minerality on the mid-palate and a flavorful, aromatic finish.
Full-bodied and flavorful, white Rhône blends originate from France’s Rhône Valley. Today these blends are also becoming popular in other regions. Typically some combination of Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier form the basis of a white Rhône blend with varying degrees of flexibility depending on the exact appellation. Somm Secret—In the Northern Rhône, blends of Marsanne and Roussanne are common but the south retains more variety. Marsanne, Roussanne as well as Bourboulenc, Clairette, Picpoul and Ugni Blanc are typical.
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.