Château La Nerthe

A classy effort that could be up with the big boys of the vintage, the inky colored 2013 Châteauneuf du Pape Cuvee des Cadettes (42% Syrah, 37% Grenache and 21% Mourvedre) has ample black raspberry and cassis fruit intermixed with licorice, toasted bread, charcoal and background meatiness. While this cuvée sees aging in new French oak barrels, its larger portions of Syrah and Mourvedre soak up any trace of oak in its first few years of life. It’s also worth remembering that while 2013 was difficult for Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre both did well. This medium to full-bodied beauty has fabulous purity of fruit, noticeable, yet ripe, tannin and solid length. It should round into form nicely with short-term cellaring and have 10-15 years of longevity.
Jeb Dunnuck - Wine Advocate Issue#215 Oct 2014 The Cadettes is unusual this year in that there is more Syrah than Grenache in the blend. The wine is appropriately dense with big colour and firm tannins; black fruit with hints of forest floor and even peat complete the picture. Southern warmth meets northern class, and they get on very nicely indeed.
Simon Field MW - Rhône Buyer

Christian Voeux is better qualified than most when he compares 2013 to the most lauded vintages of the late 20th century. Before taking on the prize job at La Nerthe five years ago, Christian was the highly influential winemaker at Château Mont- Redon for 25 years. The prospect of low yields does not rule out ‘vendanges verte’, he muses, in the same way that cooler temperatures do not mean that the wines will be lacking in structure—QED.

One of the most successfully modern manifestations of the potential of this great village, Cuvée des Cadettes is not made every year, but in 2015 it was felt that the ripe and generous fruit would be well suited to new oak. And so it has proved. Architecturally robust, elegantly decorated, this is a powerhouse that will repay lengthy cellaring. Drink 2022-2030+.
Simon Field MW - Wine Buyer

The grandest of all the properties in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and the one closest to actually having a castle, La Nerthe is a virtually contiguous vineyard, with 90 hectares of calcareous and sandy soils located just to the east of the village. With each new vintage they enhance their reputation as one of the leading “classically modern” estates in the region.

A rare combination of 60% Roussanne and 40% Clairette results in a rich and weighty wine with notes of hazelnut and melted butter as well as honeysuckle and lavender. The palate is full bodied as one would expect, however there is an acidity present which enlivens the wine giving it energy beyond preconceived expectation.
Nick Stewart, Wine Buying

The Beauvenir vines are located just outside the property in a homogenous plot, which is shared between several different varieties. Roussanne makes up 60% of the blend and Clairette a higher than usual 32%; the final assemblage is seductive indeed, with exotic notes of honeydew melon and pineapple tempered by spice, spring flowers, nougat and almonds. Once again the finish is very carefully drawn.
Simon Field MW, Rhône Wine Buyer

Christian Voeux, with decades of experience at Mont Redon, is now really getting into his stride at the la Nerthe, probably the only property in the village which deserves its ‘château’ prefix. He describes 2012 as a Burgundian vintage, its hallmarks he cites as finesse with latent power. Both Cadettes and Beauvenir have been made this year, in itself a telling sign. The low yields have engendered concentration and the growing season has favoured Syrah, which is a larger than usual shareholder in the blends. The putative Nerthe share price is rising all the time, it seems.

One of the great wines of the appellation, the Cuvée des Cadettes is a 1,000-case blend of 37% Syrah, 32% Grenache and 31% Mourvèdre cropped at a very modest yield and aged in a significant percentage of new oak barrels. Evocative, complex aromas give way to a palate of great power and length.

This wine is a show stopper! Bang for bucks, it's also my Bargain of the Vintage (18.5/20) as well as Most Exciting Wine. With fabulously ripe and creamy framboise notes on the nose, a coating of gorgeous silky tannins and a really generous core of ripe plump red fruits, this is scrumptious!!!
(Simon Staples, BBR Fine Wine Sales Director)

Ch. la Nerthe really grabbed me for its firm, polished style which will make excellent drinking from soon after shipment to 2020 . A triumph.
(Tom Cave, BBR Cellar Plan Manager)

From the more modern end of the Châteauneuf du Pape spectrum, the 2007 La Nerthe has an attractive nose of blackberry and spice, a wonderfully complete and balanced palate and particularly well-managed tannins, as so often at La Nerthe, adding an extra dimension of quality.
(Jake Dean, BBR Fine Wine Sales Manager)

Made from equal proportions of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre, and aged in new barrique this is the nearest the Rhône come to a Pomerol. The velvety texture coats a most generous fruit-basket. This will need a decade to really sing; the 2005 is not quite as good, and is still very closed!
Simon Field MW, BBR Buyer, February 2012

La Nerthe is one of the few Rhône properties where the grandeur of the wines is perfectly captured by the property itself. Our Fine Wine team love to visit because everything, the elegance of the wines included, makes them think that they are in Bordeaux. Christian Voeux is particularly pleased with the 2010 vintage which, he advises, shares the rigour and precision of the 2005 and the generous fruit character of the 2007. As the 2007 la Nerthe was our best-seller of that particular vintage, these are words that we are happy to hear...