Winemaker Notes
The Cuvée Spéciale de Vieilles Clairettes from the Southern Rhône Valley opens with a lively attack, a tense, powdery mid-palate, and a long, bitter finish, while its nose reveals aromas of fennel, white flowers, aniseed, bitter almond, and lychee, with subtle hints of candied pineapple, ginger, and lime, expressing the singularity of grapes grown on sunny, mineral-rich terroirs. This great white wine is best enjoyed from magnum bottles and benefits from extended aging in a cellar.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Still not yet bottled, the 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape Cuvée Spéciale Vieilles Clairettes is another thrilling white from this address. Pear, honeyed melon, pineapple, flowers, and hints of brioche all emerge on the nose, and it's medium to full-bodied, has remarkable purity of fruit, a rich yet still lively and fresh mouthfeel, and a great finish. Along with Beaucastel's Roussanne Vieilles Vignes, this cuvée is at the top of the appellation and is utterly world class.
Barrel Sample: 96-98
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.