Domaine du Pegau Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvee A Tempo Blanc 2020
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Jeb
Dunnuck -
Robert
Parker - Vinous
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Light and clear gold in color, the Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée a Tempo Blanc has aromas of white flowers like honeysuckle, peach, jasmine and tea. Lively, mineral, and dense middle mouth with length.
Pairs well with pasta and scallops, lobster and various shellfish cooked with cream and truffles.
Blend: 33.3% Clairette, 33.3% Roussanne, 33.3% Grenache Blanc
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Now from bottle, the 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape A Temp is another incredible white that offers an almost Riesling-like sense of minerality. Giving up lots of pear, orange blossom, honeyed brioche, and sappy herbs, it's medium to full-bodied on the palate and has incredible purity, integrated acidity, and great finish. It's certainly a bigger, richer wine compared to the more steely 2021, but it doesn't give an inch with regard to purity, precision, or balance.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Structured, crisp and streamlined in style, the 2020 Châteauneuf du Pape Blanc Cuvée A Tempo features notes of toasted grain and barely ripe pineapple. Medium-bodied, it's a blend of Clairette, Grenache Blanc and Roussanne that—like so many great wines—has improved during its élevage. My estimate for its aging potential may even prove to be conservative.
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Vinous
Matured for 18 months in a combination of old oak barriques from Guigal's Hermitage Blanc Ex Voto as well as concrete and ceramic eggs, the 2020 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Cuvée A Tempo unfurls in the glass with honeysuckle, acacia, yellow apple, pear, lime, white peach, melon and a pinch of honey aromas. Medium to full-bodied and dense, it is delicious to drink now and will continue to evolve for a few more years. Only 1,500 bottles produced
Ancestors of father and daughter team Paul and Laurence Féraud farmed olives, cherries and grapes in Chateauneuf-du-Pape dating back to the 17th century. The methods established centuries ago carry on in the current vintages, creating robust, concentrated, traditional red and white wines. For many years the winery was known as Domaine Feraud fils and they made traditional Chateauneuf-du-Pape.
In 1987 Domaine du Pegau was formed as we know it today, when Laurence Feraud returned from her winemaking studies and she teamed up with her father Paul to create the winery. Complementing each other they have conserved the authenticity and quality of their Chateauneuf-du-Pape whilst bringing it to the attention of wine lovers around the world.
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.