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| Country: | France |
| Regions: | Rhone Chateauneuf du Pape |
| Winery: | Beaurenard |
| Grape Type: | Clairette |
| Organic: | Yes |
| Vintage: | 2023 |
| Bottle Size: | 750 ml |
Domaine de Beaurenard Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc is made from Clairette blanche & Rose, Grenache Blanc & Gris, Bourboulenc, Roussanne, Picpoul and Picardan.
Gold bright green color. Expressive nose with pear and stone fruits aromas (peach, apricot) with jasmine and roasted almonds notes. The mouth is smooth and fleshy like stone fruit we can smell, with a long a nice finish.
Review:
Always terrific, the 2023 Châteauneuf Du Pape Blanc is no exception, and readers who love vibrant, age-worthy Rhône whites can safely buy this cuvée in just about every vintage. Based on 30% Clairette, 20% Grenache Blanc, 25% Bourboulenc, 22% Roussanne, and splashes of Picardan and Picpoul Blanc, the 2023 reveals a medium gold hue as well as textbook aromatics of pear and orchard fruits intermixed with honeyed flowers, chalky minerality, and subtle green almond nuances. This balanced, medium-bodied, vibrant white is very much in the fresh, focused, yet still textured, approachable style of the vintage.
-Jeb Dunnuck 93 Points
In the 14th century, during their stays in Avignon, the popes – and especially Pope John XXII – built a papal castle in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Impressed by the area's exceptional soils, they established vineyards on the slopes surrounding the château and were instrumental in promoting the local wine's reputation around the world.
Domaine de Beaurenard in Châteauneuf-du-Pape has been a family-run estate for seven
generations.
A notarial act dated 16 December 1695 mentions “Bois Renard”, which over time has become “Beaurenard”.
The Coulon brothers, Daniel and Frédéric, have taken over from Paul and Régine and are striving to sustain tradition.
The estate covers 32 hectares (a little under 80 acres) of vines in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and 25 hectares in the Côtes du Rhône Villages Rasteau AOC area.
The pebbles the 13 grape varieties the sun and the Mistral have been joining forces for centuries to give birth to each vintage of the Châteauneuf du Pape appellation. The terroir of Châteauneuf-du-Pape is unique: here the large sun-warmed stones diffuse a gentle, providential heat that helps the grapes to mature and their juice to concentrate. The Domaine is home to the " Symphony of 13 varieties" typical of this AOC, which provide aromatic complexity, strength and balance.
For the red wines, four varieties dominate : Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Cinsault, supplemented by Counoise, Muscardin, Terret Noir and Vaccarèse. The whites are made from white-grape vines : Clairette, Roussane, Bourboulenc, Grenache Blanc, Picardan and Picpoul.
All of Domaine de Beaurenard's vines (60ha) are cultivated organically (Ecocert certified) and even biodynamically (Demeter certified), without synthetic chemicals. The vines are thus attuned to nature, lunar and planetary cycles, and the rhythms of the cosmos.
At key moments, we apply biodynamic preparations (born dung, dung compost, silica, etc.) that strengthen the vines's natural defences. To further fortify them, plant-tea sprays (nettle,yarrow,horsetail,camomile...) are regularly dispensed. In the vineyatds, these methods involve working the soil without herbicides, spreading carefully-dynamised manure, and maintaining sensible grass cover (according to climatic conditions).
The creation of a conservatory with the 13 grape varieties allowed by the appellation, procured from the estate's oldest vines, also promotes biodiversity. The varieties were selected over a five-year period and splice-grafted in aplot where the soil had been resting for 12 years.In doing this, we aimed primarily to safeguard a natural genetic heritage that is particularly well adapted to the terroir. But we were also mindful of future generations; and of being able, if global warning continues, to increase the proportion of varieties that contain less sugar ( and so less alcohol) and contribute aromatic complexity.
Meticulous work is performed all around the years, and particularly during four intense periods :
Pruning is done solely by the estate staff: each person tends to the same plot over the long term, crafting their vines like sculptures.
Debudding of all the vines: this prevents leaf build-up around the bunches, ensure small yields, and ventilates the vine-trunks by letting natural light through. Several other jobs are also done while the grapes are still unripe: placing the shoots between the trellis wires, to which they are then fastened; and green harvesting if necessary.
Soil-working and controlled grass cover are supplemented by a team of seasonal workers who, during long weeks, hoe between the vines – a very strenuous, painstaking job in our stony soils.
Harvesting with all grapes hand-picked and sorted.
This type of extremely precise cultivation and monitoring means we obtain healthy grapes, the only way to make wines of high-quality and concentration.
Domaine de la Janasse Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvee Vieilles Vignes is made from 65% Grenache, 20% Mourvèdre, 10% Syrah, 5% divers.
In contrast to Chaupin, which is made from old-vine Grenache on sandy soils, the cuvée Vieilles Vignes is from old vines of Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah along with smaller percentages of other permitted varieties that are grown in these old vineyards. The wine is sourced from 4 terroirs: pebbly clay, sand, gravelly red clay and sandy limestone. Vieilles Vignes is always the most powerful and concentrated Châteauneuf-du-Pape cuvée made at Domaine de la Janasse.
Review:
The 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape Vieilles Vignes also saw some stems (the estate started keeping some stems with the 2016 vintage) and was 75% destemmed, with the blend being 70% Grenache, 20% Mourvèdre, and the rest Syrah, Cinsault, and Terret Noir. As usual, it’s a more powerful, black-fruited wine comparted to the Cuvée Chaupin and has lots of crème de cassis, liquid violet, crushed stone, woodsmoke, and peppery herbs. It displays the vintage’s purity and freshness yet brings the concentration as well as the structure. I’ll be shocked if it’s not in the handful of top wines in the vintage.
-Jeb Dunnuck 96-98 Points
Domaine de la Janasse Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvee Vieilles Vignes is made from 65% Grenache, 20% Mourvèdre, 10% Syrah, 5% divers.
In contrast to Chaupin, which is made from old-vine Grenache on sandy soils, the cuvée Vieilles Vignes is from old vines of Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah along with smaller percentages of other permitted varieties that are grown in these old vineyards. The wine is sourced from 4 terroirs: pebbly clay, sand, gravelly red clay and sandy limestone. Vieilles Vignes is always the most powerful and concentrated Châteauneuf-du-Pape cuvée made at Domaine de la Janasse.
Review:
The advantages of old vines are perhaps most evident in the more difficult vintages (whether hot and dry or cool and rainy). The 2021 Chateauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes is a strong effort, delivering supple, velvety waves of ripe black cherries and black raspberries. Medium to full-bodied, it's rich and concentrated without seeming at all heavy or unbalanced, finishing long and juicy. It's approximately 75% Grenache, 15% Mourvèdre, 5% Syrah and 5% other varieties, keeping in mind that up to 15% of the old Grenache vines are actually Clairette Rose.
-Wine Advocate 96 Points
Domaine Jean-Claude et Nicholas Fayolle Hermitage Les Dionneres Blanc is made from 100% Marsanne.
Fayolle Hermitage Blanc Les Dionnieres boasts a superb golden yellow color and extraordinary smoothness and creamy, honeyed aromas of hazelnut, peach and apricot developping into scents of iris, narcissus and lime blossom. Pure and crisp, a solid texture and a clean finish.
Delicious with poultry, veal, seafood, shellfish, veal and most cheeses.
Color : pale gold
Aromas : subtle with notes of white fruit and flowers
Mouth : balanced, fresh and mineral
TA: 3.0 g/L
RS: 1.5 g/L
Delas Hermitage Domaine des Tourettes is made from Syrah.
Sourced from Delas' holdings on the Hermitage hill, this 2021 has a deep, brilliant red hue. The nose is powerful and complex, expressing blackberries, spices and leather. On the palate the wine is firm but silky, with the tightly-knit tannic structure that is the hallmark of wines with a long future.
Pair this wine with rare or medium-cooked game, marinated meats and spicy stews. We recommend opening this bottle between one and three hours before drinking.
Reviews:
Some weight of fruit here underneath the measured clove oak. Smooth, ripe, with well-balanced acidity, this has a good sense of balance and elegance. Fresh, with plentiful cinnamon spice and forest berry fruit that's just-ripe, neither over nor under. A fairly compact, early-drinking Hermitage, not a powerful one, but one that has some natural class.
-Decanter 93 Points
Very complex nose with notes of candied orange, cocoa powder and spice. Remarkably harmonious for the vintage with almost silky tannins, then comes an intense flinty character that gives the slightly sweet finish so much excitement. Matured entirely in oak barrels with about one quarter new, but only for 12 months.
-James Suckling 93 Points
Gaec de Brangers Menetou Salon Blanc 100% Sauvignon Blanc is crisp and refreshing with rich, ripe lime and grapefruit aromas. Elegant, beautifully rounded, harmonious and well-balanced, a mineral sytle and a smooth and long finish. It is ideal as an aperitif and a great match with shellfish, smoked and grilled salmon, goat cheese.
DOMAINE DU GAEC DES BRANGERS is owned by the CHAVET family, which is one of the most reknown winemaking families of the Menetou-Salon Appellation. Philippe Chavet has been running the estate for 25 years and each year, his cuvees are awarded in the international competitions and by the international press.
Unoaked
12.5 ABV
Average age of the vines is 20 years old. Traditional winemaking in temperature-controlled stainless steel tank.
Slow fermentation at low temperature.
Ideal as an aperitif, any cooked fish such as smoked and grilled salmon, and with goat cheese.
All older vintage wines have been purchased from a single collectors cellar. Pictures can be requested before shipment.
Antica Vigna Valpolicella Ripasso DOC Superiore is made from 50% Corvina, 45% Rondinella and 5% Merlot.
Ripasso Superiore DOC is an elegant and refined wine, showing a beautiful and intense ruby color. Spicy, with cherry hints and wild berries notes, it features great personality and complexity. In the palate it is rich, very fruity, elegant and still young but already very well-orchestrated, with the typical notes of wild berries that blend well with the complexity of the wine.
20% in steel· 80% in wood for 6 months of which 2/3 in American and French barriques, half of which are used for the second and third time 1/3 in large barrels
Aging:
Fermentation time: about 7/10 days the first and 15 days the second.
Fermentation: at a controlled temperature of 18/20° and second fermentation on the skins of Amarone at 18/20°C.
Vinification: soft crushing of destemmed grapes to obtain Valpolicella.
Drying: the grapes are not dried but vinified fresh.
Harvest: mid-September with manual harvesting of the grapes.
VINIFICATION AND AGENG:
Vineyard management: sustainable agriculture and great attention to natural cycles
Vine density: 4,000 to 5,400 vines per hectare
Vine planting year: from 1972 to 2009
Vineyard training system: guyot and pergola
Soil type: limestone
Exposure: south
Height: 350/400 meters asl
Geographical location: Tenuta di Mezzane, Tenuta di Cazzano di Tramigna
THE TERRITORY:
Pairs well with grilled and roasted meats, as well as cheese.