Winemaker Notes
A tremendously vigorous wine with a warm and inviting intensity. The very bright ruby ??announces aromas of olive green, humus that prolongs a fleshy mouth, warm, kirsch with fresh and silky tannins.
Blend: 80% Grenache, 10% Mourvèdre, 10% Syrah
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
A dense, powerful red, with a vein of graphite coursing through sappy black fruit and melted licorice. Shows charred sandalwood and a bitter kick of herbs and iodine that offset the ripeness, with tannic grip through the smoky finish. Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape Réserve is a similar blend of 80% Grenache and 10% each of Syrah and Mourvedre. Its deep ruby/plum hue is followed by notes of darker berries, chocolate, roasted herbs, and garrigue. Full-bodied, round, and opulent, with the vintage’s forward, incredibly charming style, it has the mid-palate depth as well as tannic structure to keep for 10-15 years, although I see no need to delay gratification.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A blend of 80% Grenache with 10% each Mourvèdre and Syrah, the 2020 Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve marries hints of dried flowers with black cherries and a touch of cocoa. Full-bodied and concentrated, this is less flattering to taste than the Les Olivets at this stage, but it should still be excellent in time.
Barrel Sample: 91-93
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Vinous
The 2020 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve is made with 10% Mourvèdre, instead of using 10% Cinsaut like in the Les Olivets. This adjustment accentuates the overall structure and contributes hints of earthiness. The 2020 Réserve bursts from the glass with aromas of blood orange, juicy red and black fruits, licorice, mint, forest floor and dried herbs. Polished and well-built, this full-bodied red shows good persistence on the distinctively savory finish. I have no doubts that it will celebrate its 20th birthday in great shape.
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.