Winemaker Notes
Crème de cassis, exotic spices and tobacco and leather aromas on the nose. Full-bodied on the palate, with a long, lingering finish.
Excellent with strong cheeses, grilled/roasted meats and dishes featuring complex, earthy flavors (like morel mushrooms).
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Tasted from bottle, the 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape Cuvée Laurence is heavenly stuff that tastes like the essence of Provence. Sporting a deeper ruby/plum hue as well as incredible notes of red and black fruits, new saddle leather, herbes de Provence, licorice, and God knows what else, these all carry to a full-bodied, powerful, unctuous effort that has tons of richness, sweet tannins, and a great finish. It reminds me of a great vintage from the late Henri Bonneau.
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James Suckling
Very muscular, meaty and gamey, with wonderful spicy complexity on the full-bodied and highly structured palate. This has terrific concentration and compact fine tannins at its core. Enormously dense at the monumental finish. Not easy to find the right words for all this. The blend is identical to this producer’s Cuvee Reservee.
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Vinous
Dark and brooding, the 2019 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Laurence showcases melted licorice, ripe black fruits and cedar. Herbal and spicy gradations add further layers. Fierce tannins call for at least five more years in bottle. Finishing long and savory, the 2019 is a powerful beast that might put off some of the more traditional-style-seeking Châteauneuf drinkers. Nonetheless, this is a rock-solid Cuvée Laurence with ample substance.
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.