Chimère

Situated in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation of the southern Rhône Valley, Chimère is a joint winemaking venture, bringing together several notable figures in the wine industry. These include Manfred Krankl, renowned for his role as the founder and winemaker behind Sine Qua Non, a cult producer recognized for producing uniquely distinctive wines from California’s Central Coast.

Partnered with Krankl are the Maurel brothers, Vincent and Pascal, proprietors of the Clos Saint Jean winery in Chateauneuf-du-Pape, and Philippe Cambie, a highly respected oenologist celebrated for his consulting work in the Rhone Valley. The joint venture’s primary goal is to craft a Chateauneuf-du-Pape wine that authentically captures the essence of the La Crau vineyard, one of the Rhone Valley’s most renowned terroirs, while drawing on the collective expertise of these world-renowned winemakers.

The inaugural vintage of Chimère, debuting in 2010, is predominantly crafted from the Mourvèdre grape variety, accounting for 95% of the blend. The name “Chimère,” which translates to “chimera” in French, alludes to the concept of dreams or fantasies, reflecting the aspiration of creating something extraordinary and imaginative in the realm of wine. Notably, this debut vintage consisted of only four 300-litre barrels, exclusively bottled in magnum format, resulting in a limited production of approximately 800 bottles.

This collaboration symbolizes a convergence of passion, expertise, and a shared vision to produce a wine that mirrors the terroir’s intricacies and showcases the skills of some of the most revered winemakers on a global scale.

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.