Chateau de Vaudieu Chateauneuf-du-Pape Les Vieilles Roussanne 2021
- Decanter
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Jeb
Dunnuck -
Robert
Parker
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Decanter
Richly aromatic, with deep pear and a touch of yellow melon. Lightly honeyed on the nose, then more noticeably so on the palate, with sweet oak spice melding with the sappy acidity. Powerful in flavour, but with great focus, clarity and freshness; this has huge length, without any excessive body. Good now, will be better in time. Grown on limestone soils, aged in barriques, 50% of which are new. Just 2,700 bottles produced.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Readers looking for a richer, more concentrated style of white should snatch up the 2021 Châteauneuf Du Pape Les Vieilles Roussanne, a 100% Roussanne from the older vines on the estate. Its medium gold hue is followed by a terrific perfume of buttered orchard fruits, spice, mint, and chalky minerality. Balanced on the palate, it's medium-bodied, has a round, elegant mouthfeel, and a great finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
All barrel fermented and matured, using 50% new oak, the 2021 Chateauneuf du Pape Les Vieilles Roussanne boasts bold aromas of honeyed muskmelon and enticing florals. It's full-bodied and expansive in the mouth yet not overly weighty or heavy, just pleasantly rich and generous, with a burst of lime zest on the lengthy finish to keep things focused.
Located about a five minute drive outside the village of Chateauneuf-du-Pape along the road which leads to Courthezon you will find Chateau de Vaudieu. It is one of three 18th century Chateaux located in the appellation, tucked into a small valley surrounded by hills and plateau. It is at the intersection of several major terroirs: sandy soils to the north, along a border it shares with Chateau Rayas (one of the best wines in Chateauneuf-du-Pape but not actually a Chateau), pale limestone and clays centered around a forested hillock, and two large plateaux of the somewhat overexposed galets. In total there are 70 hectares within one contiguous estate – something very rare in the appellation.
Full and silky in body but also charmingly crisp, Roussanne is native to the Rhône Valley of France. It is responsible for some of the finest Northern Rhône white wines. Roussanne adds richness and acidity to Marsanne’s soft, fruitiness, making age worthy and highly respected whites. Somm Secret—Roussanne takes its name from the French word, roux, meaning rouge or red because of the berry’s pink glow. In California, virtually all of the 339 acres of Roussanne come from true clones brought over by Tablas Creek and John Alban.
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.