Domaine des Peres de l'Eglise Chateauneuf-du-Pape Heritage de Pollus 2018
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Enthusiast
Wine -
Parker
Robert -
Dunnuck
Jeb
Product Details
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Wine Enthusiast
A varietal Grenache sourced from century-old vines, this plummy, salt-rimmed sip juxtaposes ripe black-cherry and mulberry flavors against a thrilling minerality. It's a big, muscular red but framed by fine, furry tannins and a tang of sun-baked clay and basalt. Delicious young, the wine is likely to improve further through at least 2030.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Round, plush and nearly seamless on the palate, the 2018 Chateauneuf du Pape L'Heritage de Pollus is a suave, elegant example of this cuvée, which is all Grenache aged in demi-muids. Black cherries, dark chocolate, fine leather, cedar and mocha notes give the flavors a mainly dark profile, but brighter notes of red raspberries surface on the silky, lingering finish.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2018 Châteauneuf Du Pape L'Heritage De Pollus is a smaller production release that's all Grenache brought up in demi-muids. It too has notable freshness and vibrancy as well as impressive notes of spring flowers, incense, earth, blueberries, and black cherries. Elegant, medium to full-bodied, beautifully balanced, and with good structure, it's going to keep nicely on its overall balance and purity. I’m a big fan of the wines of this estate, and while they always have a classic vibe, they don’t skimp on fruit and or purity. They’ve done well in both 2017 and 2018.
Barrel Sample: 91-93
Other Vintages
2019-
Parker
Robert
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.