Winemaker Notes
#81 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2023
Soft round tannins, a very elegant wine. 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 1 hour before serving
Provencal Daub, Coq au Vin, Magret de Canard (Duck), charcuterie such as parma ham, spicy sausage and a selection of cheeses, such as comté and beaufort.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
As to the reds, the 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape Bel Ami is terrific, with juicy red fruit (strawberries, raspberries), spring flowers, and sappy garrigue aromatics in its medium-bodied, beautifully balanced profile. I love its purity, it has fine tannins, and outstanding length. Drink this floral, complex 2020 over the coming decade. The blend is 70% Grenache and 10% each of Syrah, Mourvedre, and Cinsault.
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Wine Spectator
Seductive and pure, with glossy boysenberry and red currant gliding through the round palate. Reveals graphite that lines the palate, with dried thyme and lavender adding lift. This is powered by snappy acidity, which keeps this from being heavy or flat. Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Cinsault.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Evolving just about how I expected after the previous year's pre-bottling sample, the 2020 Chateauneuf du Pape Bel Ami delivers plenty of ripe cherry fruit, plus some clove and liniment notes on the nose, while the palate is medium to full-bodied, supple and softly dusty. It's a solid wine, harmonious.
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.