Domaine des Senechaux Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc 2020
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James
Suckling -
Wine
Spectator -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Robert
Parker
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Aromas of apricots and quinces with hints of raw almonds, pastry crust and crushed stones. Dried flowers, too. Very textural on the palate with a full body and rounded stone fruit character. Lower acidity just highlights its origin, bringing up a very fine, almost marble-polished chalkiness, that stays on the palate for minutes. Opulent and lingering. Drink or hold.
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Wine Spectator
Plump, juicy and fresh, showing a delicious core of white peach and star fruit flavors, with subtle lemon shortbread, acacia and verbena accents. Offers a nice underlying acidity that helps extend and define the finish. Roussanne, Clairette, Grenache Blanc and Bourboulenc.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The light gold 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape Blanc offers up a bright, juicy, medium-bodied style with tart melon and pineapple fruits as well as some spice and honeyed mineral nuances. Nicely balanced and medium-bodied, it puts on weight with time in the glass and is an outstanding white to enjoy over the coming 3-4 years or so. I wouldn't be surprised to see it keep longer. The blend is 33% Roussanne, 29% Clairette, 28% Grenache Blanc, and the balance Bourboulenc, aged in a mix of old barrels and stainless steel.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Senechaux's 2020 Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc is a blend of 33% Roussanne, 29% Clairette, 28% Grenache Blanc and 10% Bourboulenc, with one-fourth done in used barriques and the rest made and matured in stainless steel. Hints of crushed stone accent tangerine and pear notes, while the medium to full-bodied palate is fresh and vibrant, with more crushed stone and citrus zest on the finish.
Other Vintages
2021-
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Wine
Spectator
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Jeb
Dunnuck -
Wine
Spectator -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Robert
Parker
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Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker
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Robert
Parker
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.