Clos Des Papes - Chateauneuf-Du-Pape 2020 (750ml)
Price: $146.00
Sale Price: $109.50
| Producer | Clos Des Papes |
| Country | France |
| Region | Rhone |
| Varietal | Grenache |
| Vintage | 2020 |
| Sku | 1413299 |
| Size | 750ml |
Having bottled Chateauneuf since the end of the nineteenth century and being prominent members in the town since at least two centuries before this, the Avril family of Clos des Papes have made the estate into one of the great established names in Chateauneuf.
The estate is currently run by Paul-Vincent Avril, who attended wine school in Burgundy in the 1980s after working abroad (including a stint at Mount Mary in Victoria with Dr John Middleton) and returned home in 1988 to work with his father Paul. Since then he has succeeded in making what many regard as the single best example of the appellation, producing just one red and one white wine.
The red comes from two dozen parcels of vines and is normally a blend of abut 65% Grenache, 20% Mourvèdre, 10% Syrah and the remaining 5% being a mix of other permitted varieties. In some vintages, such as 2020, the contribution of the Mourvèdre is higher with a corresponding reduction in the proportion of Grenache. The significant quantities of Mourvèdre give the wine a particular structure. The white is made from nearly equal percentages of six varieties.
Many parcels are co-fermented. The red wine is aged in large foudre of various sizes for 18 months. The white grapes are co-fermented in two batches depending on picking dates. The white wine is aged on lees with no malolactic for 5 months before bottling.
The wines are known for having intensity and richness but also elegance and finesse.
Wine Advocate: 96-98 Points
Proprietor Paul-Vincent Avril expects to bottle 100000 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.
Wine Spectator: 97 Points
Beguiling, with a plume of black tea and incense leading off, followed by black cherry reduction, cassis, melted black licorice, warm earth, singed tobacco and garrigue accents. Offers breadth and depth with a seamless feel, capped by a subtle mineral edge that lingers lengthily amid the beautiful fruit. Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre. Best from 2024 through 2040. 8,000 cases made, 800 cases imported.
Jeb Dunnuck: 96 Points
The 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape showed brilliantly and is certainly one of the stars in the vintage. Based on 55% Grenache 30% Mourvedre and the rest Syrah and other permitted varieties it shines for its elegance and purity offering a wonderful core of red and black fruits medium to full body silky incredibly polished tannins flawless balance and already complex notes of flowers sappy garrigue Provençal spice. It has the estate's incredible ability to bring wonderful intensity and richness while staying graceful and seamless. It reminds me slightly of the 2012 possibly the 2006 and while it already offers pleasure it will evolve for 20+ years in cold cellars.
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