Domaine de la Solitude Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2015
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Winemaker Notes
In its youth, this vintage is perfect to pair with a shoulder of lamb slow roasted in the oven, roast pigeon with porcini mushroom, and, from its fifth year, stew, Daube Provencal, all game and many cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Ripe and seductive, with a very silky feel, while waves of raspberry, kirsch and blood orange flavors move through, accented by light tea, red licorice and incense notes.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Domaine de la Solitude turned in a top performance with its 2015 Chateauneuf du Pape. It shows hints of toasted almond or marzipan on the nose, ripe cherries and hints of stone fruit, and while it's richly tannic, the tannins are ripe and velvety. It should drink well for 15+ years.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: Food lovers are big fans of quality Châteauneuf-du-Papes, and the 2015 Domaine de la Solitude is one that will bring smiles to the palate. TASTING NOTES: This wine is generous, flavorful, and long on the palate. Its aromas and flavors of black fruits, earth, and savory spices should pair its supremely with a spit-roasted leg of lamb. (Tasted: October 1, 2018, San Francisco, CA)
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James Suckling
Charming potpourri and dried raspberry fruits on the nose in a classical style. The palate has a smooth, bright and simply pleasing red berry fruit core.
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In the 1980s, brothers Michel and Jean Lançon took the future of Domaine de la Solitude in their hands, focusing attention on the vineyards. Fertilizers have not been used at Solitude for the past ten years. Over the past several years, Michel’s son Florent Lançon has been taking over the day-to-day operations of Domaine de la Solitude, continuing to make improvements while preserving the traditions of his father and uncle. The Estate is a contiguous 100 acres, planted to 86 acres of red grapes and 14.8 acres of white grapes, with vines averaging 50 years of age.
Driven by the desire to produce the best possible wines while still respecting the traditions of Chateauneuf-du-Pape and their lineage, in 1999, Michel and Jean decided to introduce four prestige cuvées and added Cuvée Barberini Rouge, Cuvée Barberini Blanc, Réserve Secrète, and Cornelia Constanza to the winery’s production.
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.