Winemaker Notes
This wine comes from the very rocky Serres vineyard in Châteauneuf du Pape. The soil is composed primarily of gravel, and large cobblestones known as 'galets roulés.' The rocky soil produces wins of great depth and intensity. This wine is dense, peppery, and full of blackberry, licorice, and black cherry flavors. Ripe, supple, tannins balance the wine, making it ideal for grilled meats, and daube Provençale.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Moving to the 2018s, all of which were tasted from bottle, the 2018 Châteauneuf du Pape reveals a ruby/purple hue and is slightly opaque. Based on 85% Grenache and 5% each of Syrah, Mourvèdre, and Cinsault, it offers a gorgeous perfume of black raspberries, herbes de Provence, ground pepper, candied orange, and a touch of spiced meat. Pure class on the palate, with medium to full-bodied richness and ultra-fine tannins, it has terrific balance, a layered, elegant mouthfeel, and a great finish. This is one thrilling base cuvee to enjoy over the coming decade or more.
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James Suckling
Full black-fruit aromas and intense licorice character, together with the full body and plenty of powdery tannins make a bold statement. Everything fits together very neatly on the front and mid-palate, but the finish doesn’t have quite the excitement you were led to expect. Still, this is a delicious wine with many years of life ahead of it. A blend of 60% grenache and 40% mourvedre. From organically grown grapes.
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Wine Spectator
Ripe and juicy, this is a well-built version offering up a range of enticing black cherry, plum and fig fruit flavors while singed alder, garrigue and dried lavender notes chime throughout. Ample fruit on the finish with a savory streak providing a nice counterpoint. Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah and Mourvèdre. Best from 2021 through 2032.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Chateauneuf du Pape is a terrific effort from this variable vintage, loaded with rich, ripe flavors of red and purple raspberries, black cherries and oodles of Provençal herbs. It's full-bodied and nearly creamy in texture, with silky tannins that make a subtle appearance on the licorice-tinged finish. Looking even more concentrated and structured than last year, it should drink well for at least a decade.
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.