Domaine de Cristia Chateauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes 2020
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Jeb
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James
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Robert
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Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Deep black robe with hints of purple, Complex nose with notes of red fruits and garrigue associated with discreet and elegant toasted oak. Delicate and textured palate with spices, and milk chocolate notes. The finish is fresh, tight and rich, full of jammy fruit
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Not yet bottled, the 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape Vieilles Vignes is all very old vine Grenache from the sandy soils of the Cristia lieu-dit. Brought up in demi-muids and a mix of new and used barrels, it gives up a rocking bouquet of blackberries, ripe cherries, licorice, toasted spices, and violets. It's gorgeous on the palate as well and is medium to full-bodied, with a seamless, elegant texture, ripe tannins, and a great finish. It's rock star stuff that I'd buy in a second.
Barrel Sample: 95-97 -
Wine Spectator
Concentrated but not weighty, this has an ethereal quality to its attractive licorice, cherry pie and fragrant incense notes, shored up with chalky tannins and a dusting of graphite that offsets the warmth. Beautifully textured, with bitter plum and mineral notes alternating with holiday spices and apple wood smoke stretching out across the finish.
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James Suckling
The intense clove aroma is at the outer edge of typicity for this appellation. However, this Chateauneuf is simultaneously savory, dry and surprisingly elegant through the long balsamic and spicy finish. A pure grenache. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Aged in a fair bit of new oak (roughly one-third new barrels, one-third demi-muids and one-third older barrels), the pure Grenache 2020 Chateauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes carries notes of vanilla and toasted coconut alongside hints of plum, cola and stone fruit. It's full-bodied, framed by some slightly drying wood tannins and has a dusty finish. Rating: 90+
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Robert
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Spectator
Created by Etienne Grangeon 70 years ago, the property originally comprised 2 hectares of Grenache. It was developed further by the driving force of his son Alain, who joined the domaine in 1963. Passionate about viticulture, he notably contributed to the expansion of the domaine and planted improved grape varieties such as Syrah and Mourvèdre and created the identity of Cristia, based on the knowledge and respect of his soils.
Then, in 1999, Baptiste, Dominique and more recently Florent joined their father. Their priorities were to concentrate on selecting the best parcels in order to produce a wine of a great quality with a good ageing potential.
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.