Winemaker Notes
#10 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2025
Complex, long, with a smooth, fleshy mouthfeel. Famille Isabel Ferrando is characterized above all by an abundance of black fruits, a sensation of strawberries and figs mixed together, and a silky, velvety texture. The attack is firm, the mid-palate tense and chiselled, and the finish sustained by a noble bitterness. This collector's wine will henceforth be the only expression of the estate in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Reminding me of the 2020, the 2022 Châteauneuf Du Pape is based on 60% Grenache, 16% each Mourvèdre and Cinsault, and the rest Syrah. Its medium ruby hue is followed by a gorgeous perfume of black raspberries, white pepper, Provençal garrigue, and crushed stone-like minerality. With medium to full-bodied richness, a seamless, layered mouthfeel, and ripe, polished, yet building tannins, it's an absolute gem in the vintage that will benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age and cruise over the following decade or more.
Rating: 96+ -
James Suckling
Fragrant, rich and graceful, this is a ravishingly beautiful Chateauneuf. The forest berry and wildflower aromas are hedonistic and very precise. The interplay of super-fine tannins and fruit on the full-bodied palate is spot on. Long, very silky and vibrant finish. Just bottled. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Less exuberant than the F601, the 2022 Chateauneuf du Pape from Famille Isabel Ferrando is a blend of 60% Grenache Noir, 16% Mourvèdre, 16% Cinsault and 8% Syrah. It exhales a complex, shy bouquet of dark berries, spices, licorice, violet and dark cherries. Medium-bodied, fleshy and round with a textured mid-palate, it's enrobing and suave with structured tannins that segue into a long, penetrating and racy finish with lots of vertical energy. It matured for 18 months in a combination of foudres (34%), concrete tank (33%) and terracotta jars (33%).
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Vinous
The inviting 2022 Châteauneuf-du-Pape is at eye level with the gorgeous 2020. Showcasing ripe forest strawberry, black cherry, licorice, crushed violet and licorice, the 2022 is simply alluring. Ripe and polished tannins provide good structure and lay a solid foundation for extended bottle-aging.
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Wine Spectator
Supple and mouthfilling, with silky tannins upholding cherry, plum and pretty lavender notes. Grilled garrigue plays out on the finish, which shows sneaky length and elegance. Seductive in feel, with impressive energy, too, for a balanced, harmonious impression. Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah and Mourvèdre.
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.