Winemaker Notes
Château Mourre du Tendre tends 3ha of vines in Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the lieu-dits of Le Crau, La Guigasse and Saintes-Vierges – all sandy terroirs. While primarily Grenache, planted in 1929 and 1945, there is a small portion of Mourvedre that Jacques Paumel added in 1967 to compliment the final blend. Whole cluster, semi-carbonic maceration and fermentation with indigenous yeasts, 35 day maceration. 30 months in tank then six months in bottle before release.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Based on 90% Grenache and 10% Mourvèdre that will spend three years in tank, the 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape Prestige Très Vieilles Vignes sports a dense purple hue as well as a big, port-like bouquet of red and blue fruits, spicy herbs, tobacco, and ground pepper. This rich, full-bodied 2019 stays nicely balanced on the palate and has ripe yet building tannins, a wonderful mid-palate, and outstanding length on the finish. It's a ripe, decadent, old-school styled Châteauneuf du Pape with lots to love.
Barrel Sample: 90-92
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.