Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2009 Chateauneuf du Pape appears to be a beautiful wine, although perhaps not at the level of the 2007 or 2010 (which will not be released for another two years). The elegant, medium to full-bodied 2009 displays lots of cedary, berry fruit intermixed with notes of garrigue, Christmas fruitcake, kirsch and spice. It is best consumed in its first decade of life.
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Wine & Spirits
Salty, smoky and peaty, this is a compelling earthy Chateauneuf-du-Pape, savory and dark. It's not a big wine but it has staying power, the flavors fragrant, the supple tannins giving the wine a velvety density. Drink it over the next five years, with game birds or other lean, gamey meat.
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Wine Spectator
An old-school version, showing brick dust, roasted chestnut, game and singed cedar notes around a core of dried cherry and red currant fruit. The burly finish lets pepper and game accents play out. Lacks the fleshy, opulent profile of the vintage but maintains an appealing character. Drink now through 2020.
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.