Winemaker Notes
The wine offers a beautifully complex nose with powerful aromas of ripe red fruits, including cherry and raspberry, blended with spicy notes of black pepper and licorice, alongside subtle hints of scrubland. On the palate, it is full-bodied with a silky texture and fine, flavorful tannins, culminating in a long, elegant finish.
Blend: 90% Grenache, 6% Mourvèdre, 4% Other Varieties
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Powerful, muscular and tannic, this full-bodied Chateauneuf-du-Pape makes a very bold statement. The huge structure is matched by the depth of black and red berry fruit, spices and hot dry earth. Very firm finish, but this should develop beautifully with a bit more time in the bottle. A cuvee based on old-vine grenache with syrah, mourvedre and counoise. From biodynamically grown grapes. Matured almost exclusively in concrete tanks. Drinkable now, but best from 2027.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Slightly deeper-hued compared to the classic cuvée, the 2023 Châteauneuf Du Pape Girard shows exotic aromatics of floral-tinged red and black fruits, violets, blood orange, and pepper. Based on 90% Grenache, 6% Mourvèdre, and 4% other varieties, it was partially destemmed and aged 18 months primarily in concrete with small portions in demi-muids and barrels. It's beautifully balanced, has medium to full-bodied richness, ripe tannins, and a great finish. This terrific Châteauneuf du Pape will cruise for 10-15 years in cold cellars, and there are roughly 500 cases produced. Drink 2025-2038.
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Vinous
Pronounced licorice, dried herbs, white pepper and blackberry aromatics are all dialed up in the 2023 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Girard, a seductive follow-up to the equally enticing 2023 I tasted in June 2024. This finishes smooth and refined.
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.