Winemaker Notes
-International Wine Cellar 92-95
"The single-vineyard wine from a special parcel of old vines and a blend of 65% Grenache and 35% Mourvedre is the 2006 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee du Quet. Opaque ruby/purple, this is a brilliant wine and one of the stars of the vintage. Full-bodied, with superb purity, loads of blackberry and kirsch notes intermix with smoke, creosote, incense, and truffle. Full, powerful, rich, with sweet tannin and good acidity, this should be a blockbuster and drink beautifully for at least two decades. Brilliant wines from the northernmost sector of Chateauneuf du Pape emerge from the Chaussy family..."
-Robert Parker, Wine Advocate 92-95
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The single-vineyard wine from a special parcel of old vines and a blend of 65% Grenache and 35% Mourvedre is the 2006 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee du Quet. Opaque ruby/purple, this is a brilliant wine and one of the stars of the vintage. Full-bodied, with superb purity, loads of blackberry and kirsch notes intermix with smoke, creosote, incense, and truffle. Full, powerful, rich, with sweet tannin and good acidity, this should be a blockbuster and drink beautifully for at least two decades. Brilliant wines from the northernmost sector of Chateauneuf du Pape emerge from the Chaussy family.
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Wine Spectator
Very rich and polished, with layers of black Mission fig, bittersweet ganache, hoisin sauce, melted black licorice, Black Forest cake and currant confiture, all stretched over ample but fine-grained tannins. Really long, with ample grip for the vintage. Grenache and Mourvèdre. Best from 2010 through 2028.
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.