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| Looking west toward the village |
On the flipside of a bright and sunny early April day in
Châteauneuf-du-Pape, were the whipping cold Mistral winds. The vines were just
on the other side of bud break, and the heat of the Mediterranean summer was
far in the distance. My wife Melissa and my wine-touring friends Justin and Jon
set off for the last of our wine adventures during our early spring visit to
France. This day would feature visits to venerable producers and top vineyard
sites in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, along with sensational wines.
The highlights started early, at Domaine-du-Pegaü. Pegaü is
a top-echelon producer of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, along with other wines of the
Southern Rhône. The proprietors are the Feraud family, whose history of
agriculture in the area dates back centuries, and with winemaking as far back
as 1733. It was 1987 however that Laurence Feraud and her father Paul Feraud
created the domain in its modern form.
Today, they own 21 hectares in the AOC, spread across
several different terroirs. La Crau to the east of the village- planted to 13
different varieties, with 100+ year old vines planted on sandy & pebbly
soils. The Bédarrides area- 75 year-old Grenache vines grown in pebbly soil,
with south and southeast exposures. The Châteauneuf-du-Pape village area- parcels
growing Grenache and Mourvedre in red earth and pebbly soil, and parcels
growing Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Bourboulenc, and Roussanne in clay soils. The
Pignan in the north of the appellation- low yielding Grenache and Mourvedre
planted on a hilltop near Chateau Rayas, protected from Le Mistral winds by the
surrounding forest, and with soils similar to La Crau. And Les Bosquets- near
the domaine, 80 year-old vines planted to Grenache, Cinsault, Counoise and
others, on hillsides sheltered from Le Mistral and overlooking the Rhône. Pegaü
also bottles Côtes-du-Rhône and Côtes-du-Rhône Villages under the Chateau Pegaü
label from grapes grown outside of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC.
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| In the barrel room at Pegaü |
In the cellar, the wines are made in a very traditional
manner, particularly the reds. The Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s are fermented using
whole bunches, in concrete, and with no added yeast or sulfur. Aging takes
place primarily in 100-year-old Russian oak casks, with extended elevage and
stricter selection of grapes on the top bottlings. The Cuvée Réservée receives
18-24 months of aging, and is typically around 80% Grenache, 6% Syrah, 4%
Mourvedre, with the other 10% coming from the remaining varieties allowed in the
appellation. The Cuvée Laurence comes from a single cask that is selected for
extended aging, usually an additional 2 years longer than the 18-24 months that
the Cuvée Réservée receives. The Cuvée de Capo is the domain’s most exclusive
bottling, and is the strictest vineyard and tank selection, made only the top
vintages, and is matured for 27 months. The Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blancs are
fermented in concrete egg, typically 60% Clairette, 20% Grenache Blanc, 10%
Roussanne and 10% Bourboulenc, aged without malolactic fermentation in
stainless steel tanks.
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| Concrete Egg fermenter at Pegaü |
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| Concrete fermenter at Pegaü |
Our tasting included a range of Château Pegaü wines,
highlighted by the 2015 Château Pegaü Côtes du Rhône Blanc Cuvée Lone
(Clairette, Bourboulenc, Grenache Blanc & Ugni Blanc) showing well-balanced
citrus zest, honeysuckle flowers, minerality and white pepper; the 2015 Château
Pegaü Vin de France Pink Pegaü Rosé (100% Cinsault) showing white flowers,
minerality, zesty berry fruit and peppery spice; and the 2013 Château Pegaü
Côtes du Rhône Villages Cuveé Setier (Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre) showing black
fruit, spice and florals with nice richness and depth.
Two Domaine Du Pegaü
wines were shown. The 2013 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Reservée wowed with aromas
of spices, garrigue, cassis, cherry & violets; with great concentration and
intensity on the palate, balanced with silky elegance; finishing with thick,
firm and silky tannins and hints of mineral notes. The 2011 Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Cuvée Laurence was even more expressive- showing minerality, garrigue, meat,
leather, tobacco, anise and blackberry; concentrated, silky and complex on the
palate with silky tannins and a huge finish. Two incredibly complex and
profound wines.
The second stop, Domaine De La Janasse, is located in the
village of Courthezon in the northwest of the Châteauneuf-Du-Pape appellation.
The domain was founded in 1967 by Aimé Sabon, who took over his father’s vines
upon returning from military service. Today, the wines are made by the second
generation, Christophe and Isabelle Sabon.
Domaine De La Janasse grows each of the 13 permitted
varietals of the appellation, including plots in La Crau. They prefer Grenache
coming from the cooler, northern parts of the appellation, with rockier soils;
Syrah and white varieties from sandy limestone soils with eastern exposures;
and Mourvedre coming from clay and limestone soils covered with river rocks. Farming
is free of herbicides and pesticides, and makes use of natural fertilizers.
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| French oak barrique aging for Mourvedre and Syrah at Janasse |
Winemaking is more pragmatic than Pegaü. Grapes are sorted
in the vineyard and again in the cellar. For the Châteauneuf-du-Pape red
cuvees, wines are partially destemmed, the degree of which depends on the
ripeness of the stems. The wines are cold-soaked, with a daily manual punch-down
for gentle extraction of tannins. Grenache is matured in large French oak
foudres to allow for a slower micro-oxygenation, while Syrah and Mourvedre are
aged in smaller French oak barrels in order to soften tannins. Typical aging is
12-14 months. The white Châteauneuf-Du-Pape wines make use of mostly new barrel
fermentation for Roussanne, and vat fermentation for Grenache Blanc and
Clairette, and are bottled unfiltered. The Côtes-Du-Rhône and Côtes-Du-Rhône
Villages range of wines are grown in Courthezon just outside of the
appellation. Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah and Carignane are the primary reds; and
Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Bourboulenc, Viognier and Roussanne are primary
whites. The reds are made with less stem inclusion, with the Côtes-Du-Rhône
wines being aged in concrete vats and the Côtes-Du-Rhône Villages wines being
aged in foudre and barrel, much like the Châteauneuf-Du-Pape reds.
Our visit included a cellar tour and a tasting of the full
range of the domain’s wines. The Côtes-Du-Rhône reds impressed, particularly
the richness and depth of the 2013 Côtes-du-Rhône Villages Terre d’Argile. The
2013 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc was very impressive, showing expressive notes of
clove, butterscotch, stone fruit and white flowers; with silky structure,
layered complexity, and full length on the finish.
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| Grenache from La Crau aging in foudre at Janasse |
A trio of the domain’s 2012 Châteauneuf-du-Pape reds were shown,
as were 2 recently bottled 2014’s. All were extremely solid- The two standouts
being the 2012 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, showing aromas of brambly black fruit,
mineral and fresh flowers; with bright red fruit on the palate and rich, silky
layers of spice and minerality; along a rich and dense core and full finish.
The 2012 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes showing greater complexity with
aromas of sandalwood, fig, spice, flowers and cherry; leading to silky fig and
cherry fruit on the palate, layered with spice and earth complexity; with silky
tannins through a big and dense core, and a huge finish.
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| Les Tresquous terroir, looking southwest |
Domaine La Barroche is located in the village of
Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The Barrot family’s history in the village dates back to
1703, with vineyard plots first being developed in the late 19th
Century. Christian Barrot further expanded the domain’s vineyard holdings in
the 1970’s, focusing on new plots in different terroirs, while lowering yields
and increasing quality. He sold wine produced from the plots in bulk to
prestigious negociants in the Rhône. In the early 2000’s Christian’s children,
Julien and Laetitia, were brought in as the domaine set out to bottle and sell
its own wine. Today, Julien farms and makes the wine, and Laetitia runs the
sales and communication.
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| First look at the concrete fermenters at Barroche |
Inside the gate of the new winery facility, we were greeted
by a gregarious and rugged fellow who turned out to be Julien. Julien exuded
enthusiasm as he quickly showed us the inside of the ultra-modern gravity-flow
winery and its new concrete tanks. He asked us how much time we had, and if
we’d like to see the domain’s vineyard plots throughout Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
And with that, we were off in my rental car bouncing around gravel drives
through the vineyards, with Julien behind the wheel.
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| Les Bosquet vineyard plots of Barroche |
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| Les Bosquet terroir, looking toward the village |
As we drove, Julien explained that he typically favors soils
with less limestone in the topsoil, and more sand, clay and iron-rich
sandstone, which to him expresses the purity he’s looking for in Grenache. He
explained that he practices biodynamic farming, although he’s skeptical of some
of the various rituals therein.
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| Terres Blanches plots of Barroche, looking east |
At the various vineyard stops, Julien explained the
variances in the soils, often times atypical of the given lieux-dit in which
they are located. For instance, at the first stop in the section of the Les
Bosquets area nearest to the village, the field blend of 100+ year old
Grenache, Mourvedre, and Clairette vines is on less-rocky soil than further up
the hill. Stopping in the Terres Blanches area up the slope north of the village,
we saw Barrot’s Grenache vines growing on sandy soils surrounded by vineyards
covered with river rocks.
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| Grand Pierre plots of Barroche, looking west |
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| Grand Pierre plots of Barroche, looking north |
At the crest of the Rayas slope, with Le Mistral winds
whipping around us, we toured Barrot’s plots in Grand Pierre. Soils here were
sandy, with iron-rich red sandstone. From there, we circled north and east past
Barrot’s plots in Cabrières looking west toward the Rhône, and then back to the
village and the winery. While driving, Julien explained that while he could
make very intellectually appealing and distinctive wines from individual plots,
he preferred the wholeness and completeness of the wines he’s able to craft
from the plots as a whole.
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| View of the tank room from the crush pad at Barroche |
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| The barrel room below the tank room |
As the winery is built into the side of the hill, we entered
the tank room from the top level where the grapes are brought in, seeing the
tops of the new concrete tanks, then descending two levels down into the barrel
room for tasting. The production at La Barroche is solely red
Châteauneuf-du-Pape cuvees. The grapes are fermented in concrete tanks, with
destemming of underripe stalks, with gentle extended macerations. Grenache is
aged in old oak casks, while Syrah and Mourvedre are aged in 600L French oak
barrels, and Cinsault is aged in stainless steel tanks. Aging is approximately
18 months, and the wines are bottled unfiltered.
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| Cask samples of 2015 Grenache |
Our tasting included 2015 Grenache from cask, including the
blend for the 2015 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Pure (the domain’s predominately
Grenache cuvee from its top vineyard sites)- which showed concentrated and
complex notes of blackberry compote, fig, cracked pepper, flowers, minerals and
spices- rich, spicy, dense and powerful on the palate, with creamy silky
tannins and a huge finish. The 2015 Mourvedre and Syrah from barrel both showed
huge concentration and depth.
Bottled wines tasted in included the 2014
Chateauneuf-du-Pape Pure; a 2013, 2012, 2011 vertical of the domain’s standard
Châteauneuf-du-Pape; and a 2005 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Fiancée. The 2014 Pure
showed beautiful primary raspberry and lavender notes, with garrigue, black tea
and clove, along an elegant yet dense palate with great depth and length. The
vertical of the domain’s Châteauneuf-du-Pape cuvee showed primary red fruit,
minerality and flowers of 2013, sweet red fruit, spices and flowers of 2012,
and a great balance of ripe red fruit, minerality, garrigue, spices and tobacco
in 2011. All were richly layered with silky elegant tannins. It’s tough to pick
a favorite of the three- but the complexity of the 2012 stood out- notes of fig
paste, allspice berry, rose hips, raspberry, tea and lavender- with silky rich
layers, great density & texture, thick silky tannins, and great length. The
2005 Fiancée is a Grenache and Syrah blend that Barrot is no longer producing.
It showed nice complexity of red fruit and spices, with silky structure and
some nice minerality on the palate- still very youthful. Overall, I thought
Barrot’s wines displayed an impressive precision and purity of flavor, while
capturing the earthy mineral and garrigue notes that are endearing in Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
It was a truly amazing day experiencing the terroir in
Châteuneuf-Du-Pape. With that, it was farewell to the majestic Rhône Valley.
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