Winemaker Notes
Dark red in color, this wine offers aromas of black fruit jam, blackberry, garrigue, lavender and violets. On the palate, it shows ripe berry and prune with elegant tannins on the finish.
Pair with red meat, cheeses and fowl (prepared with sauce based in wine, olive and spices such as curry and ginger).
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Because of Vidal-Fleury's commitment to long élevage, this is the first Wine Advocate review of this wine from bottle, tasted nearly five years after the vintage. As one might expect, the 2012 Chateauneuf du Pape, a blend of 80% Grenache, 15% Syrah and 5% Mourvèdre, is showing some signs of maturity. Leather and spice dominate the aromas, while attractive red fruit notes still show up on the palate. Medium to full in body, with softening tannins, this would be ideal for drinking over the next several years.
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Wine Spectator
Delivering steeped red currant and raspberry fruit liberally laced with singed chestnut, smoldering savory and roasted cedar accents, this alluring red has solid old-school grip, but with a fresh sanguine streak to enliven the finish. Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre.
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.