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.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Cherries, black olives and garrigue notes come together on the nose of the 2021 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve, a blend of 80% Grenache and 10% each Mourvèdre and Syrah. It's full-bodied and riper and richer than the Les Olivets bottling, yet it's still silky, refined and elegant on the lingering finish.
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Wine Spectator
Bold and gutsy, with serious mineral power fueling a sultry layer of black and red fruit. Shows smoldering incense, black licorice and singed meat notes, while a tug of tannins shore up the finish. Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre. Best from 2025 through 2034.
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James Suckling
You don’t have to be the Albert Einstein of Rhone wines to enjoy this Chateauneuf. A fresh and crisp wine with good depth and well-crafted gentle tannins. Stacks of red plum fruit and some savory character. Not enormously long, but this has a beautifully balanced finish. A cuvee of 80% grenache, 10% syrah, 10% mourvedre.
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.