Clos des Papes, Châteauneuf du Pape, Rhone, 2020 - 75cl
Expert reviews and tasting
A truly juicy palette with this ripe and indulgent fruit. What mastery and sensuality in the aromas and the berries, it is a great finesse of style. The juice shows itself in the same vein with class and management of power. A material that is both fleshy, velvety, and digestible with a superb tension of tannin.
Apex 2023-2033.
Guide RVF des Meilleurs Vins de France 2023 (Sept. 2022): 98/100.
Proprietor Paul-Vincent Avril expects to bottle 100,000 bottles of something approximating this "final blend," tasted out of foudre. A blend of 55% Grenache, 35% Mourvèdre and 10% Syrah and other permitted varieties, the 2020 Chateauneuf du Pape looked exceptional on this day, offering up scents of framboise and kirsch alongside dried flowers and Asian spices. Full-bodied yet weightless, silky and long, this is special stuff, complex and balanced.
(drink date: 2022-2040)
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (Joe Czerwinski, May 2022): 96-98/100.
Domain comment
2020 is a year of great finesse, very balanced and elegant, less powerful and concentrated than 2019. It is certainly a vintage for aging but also accessible in its youth. The tannins are silky, the acidity is good. It presents a lot of freshness and is characterized, as often, by aromas of red fruits, cherry, raspberry but also some spices (expression of mourvèdre). On the palate, the fruit is confirmed but also notes of licorice. Beautiful persistence. The blend is still 55% grenache, 30% mourvèdre, 10% syrah and 5% counoise, vaccarèse, muscardin.
Our red wines should be served at a temperature of 14-15°C and decanting will allow them to open up, but it is not necessary to do so 2 hours in advance as it is always interesting to appreciate the evolution in the glass.
Food and wine pairings
Wine service
- Serving temperature : 16°C
- Service Open 1 hour before serving
- Conservation : To drink and to keep until 2050
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Alcohol: 13.5°
Technical specifications
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Domain: Clos des Papes
- Cuvée: Châteauneuf-du-Pape
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Appellation: AOC Châteauneuf-du-Pape
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Region: Southern Rhône Valley
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Color: Red wine
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Type: dry, still
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Grape variety(ies):
- 55% grenache
- 30% mourvèdre
- 10% syrah
- 5% counoise, muscardin and vaccarèse
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Vintage: 2020
- Age of the vines: 30 years
- Terroir: Miocene terrain covered by the alpine diluvium of the plateaus or the diluvium of the terraces, excluding the Rhône alluvium. The soils are often covered with pebbles that store heat during the day and release it at night; this promotes the ripening of the grapes.
- Vinification:
Aging duration: 12 to 15 months
Unfiltered wine but fined with egg white
Aging in large casks but no new wood.
- Format: Bottle of 75 CL