Drink Châteauneuf-du-Pape before you die! Why?
Well, to paraphrase the great Robert M. Parker Jr, the rich, round, sumptuous and opulent texture found in Châteauneuf-du-Pape is virtually unmatched in the wine world.
Châteauneuf-du-Pape, or new castle of the pope, is named after a castle built by Pope John XXII, as a summer residence in the hills just north of Avignon. The papal court had moved from Rome to Avignon in 1309 and, although very fond of Burgundian wine, quickly developed a strong and persistent thirst for the local wines.
When the court moved permanently back to Rome in 1379 they took local wines (and vines) with them ... and, kept sending back for more of this lusciously smooth heady booze. In his superb book, Wines of the Rhone, Matt Walls notes the papal court in Rome was still ordering barrels of wines from Châteauneuf-du-Pape 200 years later.
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| Welcome to Châteauneuf-du-Pape | © iStock.com / lucentius |
Fast forward to the 1920s. Owner of Château Fortia, Baron Le Roy, was fed up with adulterated and inferior wines tarnishing the reputation of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and thus making his wines harder to sell. He drafted a set of quality focused wine production conditions for the region and set about getting them enforced as regulation. His efforts helped cement Châteauneuf-du-Pape as one of France’s leading premium wine regions. It was also the precursor of France’s famous and now indispensable, although imperfect, Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) system.
Something of an anomaly, though, for the Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC is that it allows up to a staggering 13 different varieties to be used in its red wine—most AOCs would only allow half-a-dozen and many only allow a single variety. But not Châteauneuf-du-Pape. No, no, no!
While there are some chateaux that use all 13 varieties in their red Châteauneuf-du-Pape most only use a handful and are principally Grenache, Syrah, and Mouvedre with some of the other10, if they featured in the blend at all, playing the role of ‘seasoning’.
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| The famous, but not ubiqitous, galets roulés of Châteauneuf-du-Pape | © iStock / ra-photos |
Grenache is by far the most dominant variety. Often making up around 80% of the blend and sometimes up to 100%. And, it’s Grenache that gives the wines their craveable sweet red fruit, their alluring notes of dried herbs, roses and violets, their sumptuous silky texture and, of course, their heady alcohol.
Despite all this appeal. It's easy for Grenache to get out of whack and become a clumsy, hot, alcoholic beast. Grenache has a tendency to be light colored, low in acid, high in alcohol, and softly structured. Unless these issues have been miraculously, or meticulously, dealt with in the vineyard, Grenache needs some support to make a great wine.
Syrah is pretty handy at this and is the next most used variety in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Often around the 10% mark but can be more. Used to add color and structure as well as some ripe dark berry flavors and spicy notes. Mourvedre is probable the next most used, adding color, acid, dense chewy tannins, and sometimes, a sweet earthy character. The other varieties of Châteauneuf-du-Pape sometimes used to reign in Grenache's alcohol or pep up its low acid include: Cinsaut, Muscardin, Vaccarese, Picquepoul, Terret, Counoise, Clairett, Bourboulenc, Roussanne, and Picardin.
Châteauneuf-du-Pape is an expressive, generous, food friendly wine that is both complex and gratifying with a sumptuous texture that is second to none. Sure, there are some examples of Châteauneuf-du-Pape that peak at 20 years but for most you don’t need to wait that long. Ideally, you want to be drinking your Châteauneuf-du-Pape at 4 to 7 years from vintage for the best experience.