Chateau de Nalys Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Grand Vin 2020
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Dunnuck
Jeb -
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Pale youthful gold, clear and brilliant. Intense nose of white flowers and citrus with a lovely vanilla note. Breadth, elegance and length. Noble wine, elegant and very expressive.
Pair with lobster, fish with a beurre blanc sauce, aged goat cheese.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Always made in a slightly richer style compared to the Saintes Pierres de Nalys, the 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape Grand Vin Blanc checks in as 47% Roussanne, 40% Grenache Blanc, 10% Clairette, and tiny percentages of Picardan and Picpoul Blanc. It offers a beautiful array of white currants, honeyed peach, toasted brioche, and a terrific salty, mineral-like character that shows more on the palate. Rich, medium to full-bodied, wonderfully pure, and balanced, I'd put it up with the finest whites in the vintage.
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Wine Spectator
A polished, stylish version, with oak spice and toasty cedar encasing fruitcake, warm fig and red currant flavors. Incredibly concentrated, this glides through with suave tannins and a silky feel on the long finish that's dusted with mocha. Very well-made, this is built for a long life in the cellar. Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Counoise and Vaccarèse. Drink now through 2035.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
With a higher proportion of Roussanne than the Saintes Pierres bottling, the 2020 Chateauneuf du Pape Grand Vin Blanc should drink well through 2030 or so. Scents of toasted grain, roasted cashews, grilled pineapple and pear emerge on the nose of this medium to full-bodied effort. Open, lush and long, it's a fine example of this appellation, whose white wines are steadily gaining in quality. Tasted twice (once blind), with consistent notes.
Other Vintages
2018-
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine -
Enthusiast
Wine
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Wong
Wilfred -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Parker
Robert - Decanter
Since their very first vintage bottled under the Guigal name, in 1946, the Guigal family has produced a Chateauneuf-du-Pape. The terroirs of Nalys realize a dream spanning three generations to join this leading prestigious and historic appellation. A property of 125 contiguous acres, Nalys is comprised of three spectacular plots within three of the best vineyards in the appellation: the famous “La Crau”, Nalys, and “Bois Sénéchal”. Already listed in regional land registers at the end of the 16th century, Chateau de Nalys is one of the oldest properties in the appellation, and begins a new chapter in the hands of Guigal.
Full-bodied and flavorful, white Rhône blends originate from France’s Rhône Valley. Today these blends are also becoming popular in other regions. Typically some combination of Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier form the basis of a white Rhône blend with varying degrees of flexibility depending on the exact appellation. Somm Secret—In the Northern Rhône, blends of Marsanne and Roussanne are common but the south retains more variety. Marsanne, Roussanne as well as Bourboulenc, Clairette, Picpoul and Ugni Blanc are typical.
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.