Winemaker Notes
This wine is dark in color ranging from ruby to black. Aromas of red and black fruits, Provencal spices (garrigue), pepper, and a slight touch of vanilla with some gamey nuances. On tasting, you'll find the different aromas felt olfactory, all with a presence of very fine tannins. The mouth is ample and generous with a very pronounced length, a nice touch of freshness on the finish and a remarkable balance.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape has some rustic, old wood notes as well as solid darker cherry and assorted berry fruits, medium to full body, a beautifully seamless, elegant texture, and nicely balanced tannins. It cleans up nicely with time in the glass, and the elegance and balance here are superb.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Perrin's 2019 Chateauneuf du Pape shows the tough tannins I often associate with this domaine (tasted blind), hence the "+?" appended to the rating. It does offer attractive scents of raspberries and strawberries on the nose, along with gently herbal nuances. It's full-bodied, yet comes across as not being that rich or concentrated, with those drying tannins making themselves known on the finish.
Rating: 90+?
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.