La Celestiere Chateauneuf-du-Pape Les Domaines 2010
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Robert
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Blend: 70% Grenache, 30% Mourvedre
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The sweetest, richest, most hedonistic and intellectually pleasing wine of this trio is the 2010 Chateauneuf du Pape Les Domaines. Copious aromas of mulberries, boysenberries and kirsch interwoven with hints of sassafras, roasted herbs, licorice and camphor are followed by a rich, layered, multidimensional, full-bodied, super Chateauneuf du Pape that provides further evidence of the seriousness of these new owners. Consume the 2010 over the next 10-12 years.
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Wine Enthusiast
This Châteauneuf-duPape balances concentrated dried black-cherry and berry flavors against hints of olive, smoked meat and blood. It’s lovely now, comfortable in its maturity and edged by finely tipped, drying tannins, but should continue to gain complexity through 2025.
With bold fruit flavors and accents of sweet spice, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre form the base of the classic Rhône Red Blend, while Carignan, Cinsault and Counoise often come in to play. Though they originated from France’s southern Rhône Valley, with some creative interpretation, Rhône blends have also become popular in other countries. Somm Secret—Putting their own local spin on the Rhône Red Blend, those from Priorat often include Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. In California, it is not uncommon to see Petite Sirah make an appearance.
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.