Clos des Papes 2017
AOC Chateauneuf du Pape

40 % Verlust im Vergleich zum Vorjahr bedeuten für die traditionell ohnehin sehr geringen Erträge bei Clos des Papes eine extrem kleine Erntemenge von ca. 13 hl/ha. (Wir wissen jetzt schon, dass es beim 2018er noch dramatischere Einbußen gibt: ca. 8 hl/ha.) Das Weingut "rationiert" und wird nicht sämtliche Anfragen bedienen können, die bei der TOP-Qualität zu erwarten sind...

Presse / Kritik
J. Livingstone-Learmonth: 5 / 6 Sterne (TOP 8 des Jahrgangs)
"Full, dark red colour. Blackberry, cedary cigar smoke, violets mix attractively together on the nose. Black raisin and date airs show along with fragrance – that floral touch important. There’s a good cool thread all along the palate, which carries good spine, runs really straight, has structure with stylish gras potential around it, leading into a smoky, lasting finish which shows pebbly tannins. There are salted moments and a good, complete run here, and this wine’s freshness is superior to most 2017s. The empty glass has an air of cherry stone. “It a very profound year,” Vincent Avril. 2046-50"
J. Dunnuck: 98 / 100 Punkte
"One of the strongest wines in the vintage is the 2017 Châteauneuf Du Pape from Vincent Avril. This beauty has everything you could ask for. As with the 2018, the blend is heavily shifted toward Mourvèdre, and it offers a mammoth bouquet of black cherries, graphite, cured meats, Asian spices, and assorted garrigue-like nuances. Deep, full-bodied, and concentrated, it stays straight and focused on the palate (whereas the 2016 is more expansive and voluptuous), with a stacked mid-palate, ripe, silky tannins, and fabulous length. You’re going to want bottles of this in the cellar, and comparing the 2007, 2010, 2016, and 2017 over the coming two decades is going to be a treat."
Wine Advocate: 96 / 100 Punkte
"As predicted last year by Paul-Vincent Avril, the 2017 Chateauneuf du Pape is a blend of 45% Grenache, 40% Mourvèdre, about 10% Syrah and the rest other permitted varieties. It boasts a cool, fresh nose of strawberries, cola and tree bark, yet it's full-bodied and tannic on the palate. Dense and chewy, albeit with a mouthwatering sense of freshness, this will need a few years to relax and unwind, but it looks very promising."
Vinous: 95 / 100 Punkte
"Saturated ruby. An expansive bouquet evokes smoke- and spice-accented raspberry, cherry and blueberry, along with suggestions of candied flowers, musky earth and baking spices. Densely packed red/blue fruit preserve, fruitcake and licorice flavors become livelier through the back half. This blends richness and energy with a steady hand and finishes very long and chewy, with steadily building tannins lending final grip."
Wine Spectator: 94 / 100 Punkte
"Supple and alluring in feel, with a silky edge to the mix of anise, plum sauce and raspberry pâte de fruit flavors. A twinge of roasted apple wood shows on the finish, followed by an echo of lavender. Displays lovely range. The texture makes this approachable now, though there's no rush."
The Wine Cellar Insider: 97 / 100 Punkte
"On the nose you find a spicy blend of dark cherries, strawberry, Asian spice, cloves and licorice. On the palate, the wine soft, elegant, fresh and juicy, with sweet, peppery kirsch in the finish. The wine is a blend of 45% Grenache, 40% Mourvedre, 10% Syrah and the remaining 5% consists of various, allowable grape varieties. The grapes are as always 100% destemmed."
J. Robinson: 17,5 / 20 Punkte
"Rich and thick on the nose, but still retains that all-important lightness of touch on the palate. Much more fruit than the 2010. Soy and blackcurrant on the finish, rounded and fragrant with lovely violet length. Substance with silkiness."
Bettane & Desseauve: 18,5 / 20 Punkte
"Von unwiderstehlichem und unmittelbarem Charme. Eine Cuvée mit viel Gefühl. Ein würzigeres Profil als in den vorherigen Jahrgängen, mit feinen, weichen Tanninen. Klasse."

Das Weingut
Zitat J. Livingstone-Learmonth: "Gold standard estate, joy to taste only one red, one white, so good blending is crucial. The yields are always very low – not much more than 20 hl/ha, which serves to concentrate the red wine, and there is an above average emphasis on the Mourvèdre, all planted in clay soils. The blend is now usually 55% Grenache, 30% Mourvèdre, 10% Syrah, 5% various including white grapes, having been 65% Grenache, 20% Mourvèdre, 10% Syrah, 5% various including white grapes into the early 2010s. The 2014 red was utterly charming, a real en finesse ****(*) beauty, while the 2015 is logically a bolder, more demanding ***** wine, requiring patience. The ***** 2016 red is deep and long, a vintage that will age extremely well. The whites drink well in their first couple of years, then back off, close down, and emerge as more complex, stimulating wines around seven years' old; they live well and deserve a top table accompaniment."