Winemaker Notes
100% Clairette Rose from 80-100 year-old vines in the Serres lieu-dit. Very low yields of 15hl/ha. Fermented and aged in a new barrel. Bottled without filtration.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
A jaw-dropper from the start, with pink grapefruit, rose water, Cavaillon melon, lemon curd and macadamia nut notes all wrapped with a creamed yellow plum hint, before ending with a flurry of chamomile, acacia and warm brioche flavors on the finish. This really has a lot coming at you at once. Drink now through 2029.
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Vinous
Only 800 magnums of the 2019 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Cuvée Spéciale Vieilles Clairettes were bottled, making it quite hard to find. Deep lemon-colored, it soars from the glass with fragrant aromas of spring flowers, candied lemon peel, dried ginger, ripe nectarine and peach, honey, almond and petrol. Showing remarkable tension and precision, it is medium to full-bodied, incredibly dense but at the same time also quite light on its feet. This magnificent white shows excellent freshness on the sapid finish, lingering on for well over a minute.
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.