Winemaker Notes
The 2016 Ogier Chateauneuf-du-Pape Reine Jeanne carries a nose of beautiful complexity combining licorice, prune, raisin, mocha, cocoa, spices and leather on a background of red fruit. A few notes of undergrowth and smoke emphasize the breeding. The palate is structured and powerful but keeps the freshness typical of wines vinified in whole cluster. It is therefore complexity, finesse, structure and an incredible length in the mouth that will accompany your meals.
Ideal pairings for this wine are red meat, game meat, casseroles and cheese.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Another terrific wine in the lineup is the 2016 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reine Jeanne, which is Grenache-dominated (10% Mourvèdre and 5% Syrah) aged all in foudre. It has a pretty, juicy, balanced style as well as notes of saddle leather, peppery herbs, licorice, and ripe black cherries. It’s an outstanding wine that will keep for 8-10 years.
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Wine Enthusiast
Intensely ripe black-cherry and plum flavors are edged by hints of earth and balsamic in this unctuous Grenache-dominant blend. It's a luscious, rounded wine with plush acidity and ripe tannins that invite youthful consumption. Enjoy through 2026.
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James Suckling
Spiced roses and dried, red berries amid woody aromas and dried herbs. Classic style. The palate has a smooth and juicy core of fine tannins, carrying ripe, red-fruit flavors. Slightly chewy finish. Drink or hold.
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.