Châteauneuf-du-Pape wine which are NOT Grenache focused

[larry_schaffer]

Robert,

I of course could be wrong . . . in fact, I saw that the 2016 is 75% Mourvedre. Oops. . .

[Jonathan_Loesberg]

Note that many CdP varieties are available in red or white versions. Picpoul and Grenache are certainly examples of this. The Beaucastel red will only include red varieties, whereas their blanc will include white varieties.



Cheers!

At least as recently as the first decade of the aughts, at Beaucastel, they claimed to use all allowable grapes, red and white, in their red wine. The amounts were miniscule but not non-existent. As proof that this was traditional at the domaine, they had on the wall a photo taken in the early 20th century of a large batch of grapes about to be vinified into the red wine and one could see quite clearly, scattered here and there among th red grapes, some white ones as well.Maybe they’ve changed in the past few years, but I don’t think so as it would have been at least noticeable news. If anything, the practice has increased in recent years. I’ve read, for instance, that Pegau has been using white grapes in its red blend for some time, though I will yield to correction from Dan Kravitz about this.

[Jeff_Vaughan]

Domaine Barroche produced a 100% Mourvedre cuvee called “?” in 2018 !
Also the Fiancee had less Grenache -

The Fiancee was 50% Grenache and 50% Syrah if I remember correctly. A marriage of the two so to speak.

[Jeff_Leve]

A good resource to research for your question can be found on Jeff Leve’s website here:

Top 200 wines from 2017 Chateauneuf du Pape with a full vintage report

Noting that 2017 had a poor grenache crop, you can nonetheless quickly get a sense of the grape content of 200 wines. There are more with less than 50% grenache than I would have thought, although I haven’t heard of many of those wines.

Actually, if the OP or others peruses that page, you can find blends for a large percentage of wines tasted for 2017. You can find similar info for 2016 on the site as well. I do not have the same depth of info for 2018, as those wines were all tasted at home.

Was working on putting something together and having a hard time finding much information. I am looking for Châteauneuf-du-Pape red wines, which are either NOT the majority Grenache, or at least much lower %s…

I am not sure if these wines have already been mentioned in this thread, but it is interesting to note that there are at least 3 Chateauneuf du Pape’s that are 100% Syrah; Maravilhas Espirito, La Mereuille Cuvee d’ Aure, and St. Paul L’Insolite.

There are also at least 3 wines from 100% Mourvedre; Semelles Pur Mourvedre, Mas de Boislauzon Tintot and Chante Perdrix, Henri Perges.

You can find several other non Grenache dominated blends all over the appellation as well.

[John_Morris]

Note that many CdP varieties are available in red or white versions. Picpoul and Grenache are certainly examples of this. The Beaucastel red will only include red varieties, whereas their blanc will include white varieties.



Cheers!

At least as recently as the first decade of the aughts, at Beaucastel, they claimed to use all allowable grapes, red and white, in their red wine. The amounts were miniscule but not non-existent. As proof that this was traditional at the domaine, they had on the wall a photo taken in the early 20th century of a large batch of grapes about to be vinified into the red wine and one could see quite clearly, scattered here and there among th red grapes, some white ones as well.Maybe they’ve changed in the past few years, but I don’t think so as it would have been at least noticeable news. If anything, the practice has increased in recent years. I’ve read, for instance, that Pegau has been using white grapes in its red blend for some time, though I will yield to correction from Dan Kravitz about this.

As I pointed out in post #18, the Beaucastel website refers to vinifying all 13 varieties separately for the red, so, unless they toss some out or downgrade them, it seems they are still using all 13.

[Jeff_Leve]

Note that many CdP varieties are available in red or white versions. Picpoul and Grenache are certainly examples of this. The Beaucastel red will only include red varieties, whereas their blanc will include white varieties.



Cheers!

At least as recently as the first decade of the aughts, at Beaucastel, they claimed to use all allowable grapes, red and white, in their red wine. The amounts were miniscule but not non-existent. As proof that this was traditional at the domaine, they had on the wall a photo taken in the early 20th century of a large batch of grapes about to be vinified into the red wine and one could see quite clearly, scattered here and there among th red grapes, some white ones as well.Maybe they’ve changed in the past few years, but I don’t think so as it would have been at least noticeable news. If anything, the practice has increased in recent years. I’ve read, for instance, that Pegau has been using white grapes in its red blend for some time, though I will yield to correction from Dan Kravitz about this.

As I pointed out in post #18, the Beaucastel website refers to vinifying all 13 varieties separately for the red, so, unless they toss some out or downgrade them, it seems they are still using all 13.

Larry… This is not correct. You can find white wine grapes in the blend of Beaucastel. This is as per conversations I’ve had with Marc Perrin.

[Frank_Drew]

Domaine Les Cailloux occasionally (1994, 1995, 2000?) produces an all-Syrah Châteauneuf-du-Pape bottling called Boréale, but the 1995 was affected by something, perhaps a spoilage yeast, and were undrinkable; my two bottles tasted like orange juice that had gone bad.

[Robert_Sand]

Jean Royer made (makes?) a 100% Syrah cuvee, called ?Syrah regalis? or similar. It was good but atypical, and far too young when tasted

[HenryB]

on the subject of non-grenache CNDP, I’ve been reallyl tempted for a year or so buy this:

Farr Vintners - Fine Wines

Would be a fascinating experience, just not sure £450 is worth the price (before tax)

[M_Officer]

@Jeff Leve

There are also at least 3 wines from 100% Mourvedre; Semelles Pur Mourvedre, Mas de Boislauzon Tintot and Chante Perdrix, Henri Perges.

Tintot is not 100% Mourvèdre and typically contains around 15% Grenache.

[Dav3_Dyr0ff]

on the subject of non-grenache CNDP, I’ve been reallyl tempted for a year or so buy this:

Usseglio Collection Mixed Case, Domaine Pierre Usseglio 2015. Fine Wine from Rhone

Would be a fascinating experience, just not sure £450 is worth the price (before tax)

I was not aware of this before your post, and I agree with everything you said about it - thanks for pointing it out!