Winemaker Notes
A very elegant wine with soft, round tannins. Red and black fruit bouquet, (cherries, blackberries), hints of garrigues, christmas cake and peppery spice. A fine wine. This wine will open up beautifully if decantered at least one hour before serving.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The tank-aged 2019 Chateauneuf du Pape Bel Ami is a blend of 50% Grenache, 20% each Mourvèdre and Syrah, and 10% Cinsault. Floral and mocha notes combine on the nose, while the concentrated fruit marries raspberries, black-skinned plums and black olives. Full-bodied, silky and harmonious, it drinks very easily already but looks to be capable of aging at least a decade. Tasted twice (once blind), with one sample showing more dark, savory notes and firmer tannins.
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Wine Spectator
Juicy and vivid, with a mix of cassis, cherry paste and raspberry coulis flavors that grab your eye, while light anise, floral and apple wood notes fill in through the racy finish. Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Cinsault. Best from 2023.
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.