Domaine de la Charbonniere Chateauneuf-du-Pape Mourre des Perdrix 2016
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Jeb
Dunnuck -
Wine
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Wine
Spectator -
James
Suckling
Product Details
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Winemaker Notes
The kirsch-like perfume of this cuvee is fabulous, and the dense fruit continues all the way through. It is penetrating and has the most elegant tannins of their three bottlings.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Slightly deeper colored, the 2016 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Mourre des Perdrix comes from the sandy soils not far from the domaine and is 70% Grenache and 15% each of Syrah and Mourvèdre. It's incredibly elegant and nuanced, with smoking notes of black raspberries, cherries, dried flowers, incense, and loamy soils aromas and flavors. Deep and silky, with beautiful purity, it has ripe tannin, no hard edges, and a great finish. It should be bottled by the time this report is published and is a candidate for the finest vintage of the cuvée to date.
Range:94-96 -
Wine Enthusiast
Intensely ripe layers of blackberry and cherry mingle into coffee, anise and earth in this deeply fruity yet nuanced wine. It’s full bodied and lusciously textured but framed by firm, gripping tannins that should meld better by 2021. Bold, explosive fruit is appealing now but should gain finesse through 2036 and likely hold further. Roanoke Valley Wine Company. Cellar Selection
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Wine Spectator
Dark, featuring fig and blackberry preserve flavors, this delivers a dense and steeped feel but also throws off beguiling perfume, ending with warm anise, incense and black tea notes on the structured finish. Rock-solid. Best from 2022 through 2037.
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James Suckling
Darker fruit makes for a compelling and flavorsome impression. Ripe, blood plums are laced with mocha oak on the nose and palate. Convincing and long. The purity of fruit seals the finish in style.
Other Vintages
2020-
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Robert
Parker -
James
Suckling - Vinous
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Spectator
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James
Suckling -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
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Spectator -
Robert
Parker
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Jeb
Dunnuck
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Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker
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Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator -
James
Suckling -
Jeb
Dunnuck
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Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker
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Robert
Parker
It was in 1912 that Eugene Maret bought Domaine de la Charbonniere as a gift for his wife who was a native of Chateauneuf and the daughter of a winemaker. Their son Fernand Maret inherited a part of the Domaine and enlarged it upon the birth of his son Michel.
Today Michel Maret had over 16 hectares of vineyards located in the high plateaux of Les Brusquieres and La Crau both covered with the famous cailloux roulets and at Mourre des Perdix, sandy soil dotted with larger stones.
The passion and know-how of the winemaker, handpicking of the fruit, and careful sorting at the winery enable Michel Maret to optimize all the promise of a great terrior.
The vinification at the Domaine follows the classic style: no destemming, and three weeks fermentation in stainless steel vats, after which the wine is aged in large oak fourdes for 12-18 months.
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.