Winemaker Notes
This wine has a delicate, floral nose of acacia flowers. In the mouth, lush stone fruit flavors of peach and apricot give way to a hints of honeysuckle and citrus in the finish. Traces of salinity help to balance this elegant, yet unctuous white Châteauneuf du Pape. Try it with scallops, lobster, or even sushi.
Blend: 80% Clairette, 20% Roussanne
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Another beautiful vintage for this cuvee, the 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape Blanc (60% Clairette and 40% Roussanne) has a lighter golden hue as well as lively, perfumed notes of lemon curd, crisp pineapple, and white flowers that show more honeyed richness with time in the glass. Beautifully balanced, medium to full-bodied, with perfectly integrated acidity and a dry finish, this has consistently been one of the whites of the vintage over the past handful of years, and the 2019 doesn’t break that trend.
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Wine Spectator
Lots to like here, with bright white peach, Jonagold apple, lemon peel, acacia and quinine notes. Racy, vibrant finish. Clairette and Roussanne. Drink now through 2023.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc boasts subtle layers of toasted grain and honey over a base of ripe pineapple, nectarine and citrus. A barrel-fermented blend of Clairette and Roussanne, it's medium to full-bodied, plump and generous without being overly rich or unstructured—a nicely balanced yet expansive white that finishes with focus and length.
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.