2019 Châteauneuf-du-Pape: Chapelle St. Theodoric "Grand Pin," "Guigasse" and "Sablons" - Plus Two Over-Achieving Côtes-du-Rhônes!
3/7/2022
The "Grand Pin" lieu-dit in Pignan
We were very excited a few years ago to discover the beautiful Châteauneuf-du-Papes of Chapelle Saint-Theodoric, a project by importer Peter Weygandt with winemaker Baptiste Grangeon of Domaine du Christia. The wines are aromatically complex and lovely, not heavy or over-extracted with fabulous density and length on the palate but with lightness and elegance in a Burgundan style - truly extraordinary and unusual! These have become some of our favorite Châteauneuf-du-Papes (along with Pierre André, Charvin and Eric Texier...!)
(A note about vintages: It's clear that 2019 is an excellent vintage in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, in the same group with 2010 and 2016 of full-bodied age-worthy wines. And we hear good things about the 2020s at some of our favorite estates which are reporting very pretty wines with a bit less alcohol, for drinking before the 2019s.)
The domain is comprised of two parcels; one in the lieu-dit "La Guigasse," which is a pure sand soil and where the vines (all Grenache) range in age of from 50 to 100 years; and the other parcel at the top of Pignan, "Le Grand Pin," literally adjoining the vines of Chateau Rayas, also in pure sand and also pure, old vines Grenache. The farming is organic. There is a two to three week vinification, with the stems, with wild yeasts and minimal extraction. The wines are aged for two years in four to ten year-old 600-liter barrels and are bottled unfined and unfiltered. The wines are not inexpensive, but for lovers of elegance and finesse in the Rhone Valley, they are essential.
"The two parcels are vinified and aged and bottled separately, but with the exact same treatment, the experiment being to find what terroir differences one might find, between vines less than 200 meters apart, both on sand, pure Grenache and traditional vinification. The result has been a most exciting and successful experiment: The difference between the wines from these two parcels is clear and distinct. La Guigasse is the slightly richer of the two. The Grand Pin, perhaps because the sand is nearly pure white, perhaps the higher elevation or due to some other factor we have not yet determined, makes a wine that is lower in alcohol, more perfumed and finer."
"Les Sablons" was made in 2014 and 2016 and was a lovely wine and a superb value in both vintages. The 2019, similar to the 2016, offers a style that mixes the two single vineyards with beautiful results, and at a lower price point, making the "Les Sablons" a great choice for current drinkng and for cellaring of up to 20 years.
The diverse terroirs of Chateauneuf-du-Pape often extend beyond the boundaries of the AOC which results in the production of superb Côtes du Rhône or Côtes du Rhone Villages by producers with parcels just outside the CDP zone, especially in excellent vintages such as 2016 and 2019. Our recent offer of the lovely 2019 Domaine de Ferrand Cuvee Antiques Vieilles Vignes sold out quickly and we are glad to offer it again, arriving this week.
Another great junior Châteauneuf is the 2016 Mas de Boislauzon Côtes du Rhône Villages Les Deux Chenes, which comes from old vines in the "Bois Lauzon" and "Coudelet" vineyards. This was a bit young when we first offered it in 2018 but this deep and complex wine is drinking beautifully now - "best from 2019 until 2028 - 2030" says drinkrhone - it's the Real Thing at a real price!
-David Lillie
