Bosquet des Papes Chateauneuf-du-Pape Les 7 de Pignan 2020
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Jeb
Dunnuck -
Robert
Parker -
James
Suckling - Vinous
Product Details
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Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
A new cuvée (I believe, anyway), the 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape Les 7 De Pignan is 100% Grenache from the northern portion of the Pignan lieu-dit that was aged all in foudre. It boasts a translucent ruby hue to go with a kaleidoscope-like bouquet of red cherries, framboise, strawberries, ground pepper, and Provençal garrigue. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it's elegant, has ultra-fine tannins, and a great finish. Grenache lovers out there should jump on this beauty. It will evolve for over a decade.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A new cuvée, there is a single foudre of the 2020 Chateauneuf du Pape Les 7 de Pignan, a pure Grenache named for the seven small vineyard parcels it emerges from, all on sandy soils in and around Pignan. It showcases the filigreed, floral side of Grenache on sand, with delicate notes of rose petals and resinous herbs, plus raspberries and strawberries. Full-bodied, it's silky in texture and almost airy in feel, with a lingering, elegant finish.
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James Suckling
A voluptuous and rich wine made exclusively of grenache, with notes of dark cherries, cassis, ripe strawberries and mild spices. Full body with creamy tannins. It’s round with volume and loads of juicy fruit. Succulent with freshness towards the finish.
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Vinous
This is a new cuvée, assembled from seven different parcels of Grenache from sandy soils, fermented entirely with whole clusters and aged for 15 months in used foudre. Showing a pale ruby color, the 2020 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les 7 de Pignan reveals well-defined aromas of rose water, crushed violets, blood orange, red and black cherry, strawberry, some herbaceous funk and hints of cured meat. Full-bodied, layered, swathed in plush tannins and closing with a complex finish, it is a delicious offering from Bosquet des Papes.
Since 1860, this domaine has been handed over from father to son by the Boiron family. For five generations, the philosophy of “Bosquet des Papes” estate is to produce laying down wines, meaning that they can be kept for many years, thereby respecting the traditions of Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines. The domaine is now run by Nicolas Boiron and his wife Jeanne-Claire.
Most of the wooden vessels in the cellar are foudres but they are using more and more demi-muids maybe by influence of Philippe Cambie.
The domain covers about 40 different parcels, a total of 32 ha of which 3.5 ha are Cotes du Rhone. The average age of the vines is about 50 years. A 3.5 ha plot with vines aging around 100 years are used for Cuvée Chante le Merle.
Grenache thrives in any warm, Mediterranean climate where ample sunlight allows its clusters to achieve full phenolic ripeness. While Grenache's birthplace is Spain (there called Garnacha), today it is more recognized as the key player in the red blends of the Southern Rhône, namely Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Côtes du Rhône and its villages. Somm Secret—The Italian island of Sardinia produces bold, rustic, single varietal Grenache (there called Cannonau). California, Washington and Australia have achieved found success with Grenache, both flying solo and in blends.
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.