2011 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge, Château La Nerthe, Rhône
Critics reviews
Jeb Dunnuck - 31/10/2013
Jancis Robinson MW, jancisrobinson.com 28 Feb 2013
Readers should realize that neither the luxury cuvee, the white Chateauneuf du Pape, La Nerthe Clos de Beauvenir, not the sensational top red cuvee called Cuvee des Cadettes were produced in 2011. The seriousness of La Nerthe is evidenced by the introduction of a second wine in order to preserve the integrity and exquisite quality of their top cuvees. Their new red, the Chateauneuf du Pape Les Granieres, is primarily a blend of nearly 50% Grenache and almost equal portions of Mourvedre and Syrah, with a touch of Cinsault, aged largely in old wood foudres, but with some of the Syrah and Mourvedre components in small barrels.
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate #204, Dec 2012
About this WINE
Chateau la Nerthe
Château la Nerthe is a stunning, 500-year-old property becoming ‘one to watch’ in recent years. Working organically since 1998, its 57 parcels on various soils and expositions produce a seamless, complex Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The care taken in both vineyard and cellar has resulted in seriously impressive wines. This property is, absolutely, a worthy rival to the likes of Château de Beaucastel. Winemaker Rémi Jean is as inspiring as the terroir – his understanding of the multiple plots and attention to detail is impressive.
Château la Nerthe’s remarkable terroir produces beautiful wines, year-in, year-out. Rocky, clay and sandy soils combined with natural springs imbue the wines with wonderful freshness and minerality. Rémi says Grenache gives his red blends “magic”, Mourvèdre brings complexity and Syrah provides structure. The very special top white cuvée, Clos de Beauvenir, comes from a single, walled plot: an old castle garden in front of the historic château.
Châteauneuf-du-Pape
The most celebrated village of the Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape is the birthplace of the now indispensable French Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée system – imperfect though it may be. Compared to the Northern Rhône, the vineyards here are relatively flat and often feature the iconic galet pebbles – the precise benefits of which are a source of much debate. Minimum alcohol levels required by the AOC are the highest in France, but at 12.5% it is well below the natural generosity of Grenache, which only achieves its full aromatic potential when it is fully ripe and laden with the resultant high sugars. Syrah and Mourvèdre contribute the other defining elements in the blend, adding pepper, savoury spice and structure to the decadent Grenache. There are a further 10 permitted red grape varieties which can be used to adjust the “seasoning”. Of the five white varieties permitted, it is Grenache Noir’s sibling – predictably perhaps – Grenache Blanc, which dominates, though Roussanne shows a great deal of promise when handled well, notably at Château de Beaucastel.
Southern Rhône Blend
The vast majority of wines from the Southern Rhône are blends. There are 5 main black varieties, although others are used and the most famous wine of the region, Châteauneuf du Pape, can be made from as many as 13 different varieties. Grenache is the most important grape in the southern Rhône - it contributes alcohol, warmth and gentle juicy fruit and is an ideal base wine in the blend. Plantings of Syrah in the southern Rhône have risen dramatically in the last decade and it is an increasingly important component in blends. It rarely attains the heights that it does in the North but adds colour, backbone, tannins and soft ripe fruit to the blend.
The much-maligned Carignan has been on the retreat recently but is still included in many blends - the best old vines can add colour, body and spicy fruits. Cinsault is also backtracking but, if yields are restricted, can produce moderately well-coloured wines adding pleasant-light fruit to red and rosé blends. Finally, Mourvèdre, a grape from Bandol on the Mediterranean coast, has recently become an increasingly significant component of Southern Rhône blends - it often struggles to ripen fully but can add acidity, ripe spicy berry fruits and hints of tobacco to blends.
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Description
There is no Cadettes this year, rather surprisingly, so all the benefit goes into the domaine cuvée. What is more, La Nerthe have introduced a second wine called Les Granieres, to ensure that only the very best fruit is allowed into the domaine wine. This is a blend of half Grenache and nearly a quarter each of Syrah and Mourvèdre, with a little Cinsault making up the balance. An extremely impressive wine, the 2011 captures all the qualities that I have admired in the wine over the years, in particular aromatic restraint balanced by a wealth of ripe fruit.
Simon Field MW, BBR Buyer
La Nerthe is by far the grandest of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape properties and now, under the guidance of oenologist Christian Voeux, it is making wines to match. Long feted by the French themselves, La Nerthe is now internationally recognised and lauded for a style which, appropriately enough seems to capture something of the structural grandeur of the greatest properties in Bordeaux.
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