Winemaker Notes
Aromas of red fruits and black fruits; blackberry and blueberry, as well as hints of spice. It is a concentrated and structured wine, it is a wine to keep.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2003 Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape is definitely more lush and heady than the 2005 and displays beautiful fruit and spice notes on the nose. The palate is medium to full bodied with a soft texture and a long finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The outstanding 2003 Chateauneuf du Pape Tradition is a full-bodied, peppery wine that oozes the character of Provence with its notes of lavender, herbes de Provence, and sweet black cherries and raspberries. Some licorice, saddle leather, and salty sea breeze notes also make it into the character of this full-bodied, concentrated wine which is silky enough.
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Wine Spectator
Ready to go, with outstanding black cherry and currant fruit harnessed by tar, garrigue and mineral notes. Chunky finish opens to reveal its flesh. Textbook vintage and appellation profile.
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.