Clos des Papes 2018
AOC Chateauneuf du Pape

Ca. 70 % Verlust bedeuten für die traditionell ohnehin sehr geringen Erträge bei Clos des Papes eine extrem kleine Erntemenge von ca. 9 hl/ha. Ein recht hoher Anteil von 40% Mourvedre verleiht dem 2018er eine Frische und Tiefe, die bei den Nachbarn kaum zu finden ist (und hilft, das Mengen-Desaster bei den alten Grenache-Reben in Grenzen zu halten).

Presse / Kritik
Falstaff: 97 / 100 Punkte
"Kräftiges Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, breitere Ockerrandaufhellung. Feine Kräuterwürze, reife Herzkirschen, aber auch dunkle Waldbeeren, angenehme Edelholzwürze, noch etwas verhalten. Saftig, seidige Textur, angenehme Fruchtsüße, reife Tannine, elegant und anhaftend, zarter Nougat im Abgang, balanciert und mit großer Länge ausgestattet, sicheres Entwicklungspotenzial, einfach klassisch und auf höchstem Niveau."
Decanter: 96 / 100 Punkte (The TOP Scorers Southern Rhone 2018)
"There is more Mourvedre here than an average year as the Grenache was hit relatively hard and it shows in the aromatic profile comprising damson, plum skin, mashed blueberry and liquorice. There's also a floral element and a little cinnamon kick on the finish. Tha tannins are silky, and the balance of acidity is good. It bears a certain resemblance to the 2015 but a little darker in style, concentrated and ripe, more mulled and more butch in style than a classic year. Just 30.000 bottles made from a yield of 9 hl/ha - their smallest crop, losing 70% to mildew. Drinking window 2026-2040"
J. Dunnuck: 96 / 100 Punkte
"Due to devastating yields, there’s not much of the 2018 Châteauneuf Du Pape to go around, but it’s going to be worth the extra effort to track down. Based on 50% Grenache, 40% Mourvèdre, and the rest Syrah (and a splash of other permitted varieties), it offers a textbook, classic Châteauneuf du Pape nose of mulled red and black fruits, Provençal garrigue, ground pepper, and saddle leather. These all carry to a medium to full-bodied Clos des Papes that has thrillingly polished tannins, flawless balance, and a great finish. Made in a style similar to the 1999, 2004, and maybe a kiss of the 2006, it has the beautiful elegance (again, a Grand Cru Burgundy comes to mind) paired with plenty of intensity and length. I doubt it will shut down and it’s going to evolve nicely for 15-20 years or more."
Wine Spectator: 96 / 100 Punkte
"A very refined, silky style, with subtle bitter cherry, damson plum and raspberry coulis notes racing through, flanked by garrigue and sandalwood notes and ending with graceful rooibos tea and mineral threads. This offers understated luxury."
J. Livingstone-Learmonth: 4,5 / 6 Sterne
"The blend this year was made at the outset since there wasn’t enough wine to fill the large barrels [foudres], with only six of them on the go: dark red; suave, rich, elegant air, soaked Morello cherries or griottes fruit, licorice, on a bouquet that is greatly inviting. The palate serves an instant and enjoyable hit of mixed fruits, salted touches, has real good flair, with a fresh, extended delivery. It picks up dark tannins on the close, is full of beans. I note the Mourvèdre [high this year], with its sinew and verve – it gives the Grenache a good kick in the pants. This has silk, will go down a storm – it’s more on the Burgundian charm trail than the rootsy, gutsy Châteauneuf chemin. The close is salty, black olives there. This gives much pleasure. “It’s quite feminine, silken, clear-toned, elegant, with tannins that are supple, not dry, has good matter. There’s a bit of the vintage style of 2014 and 2015 in it,” Vincent Avril. From 2022. 2048-51"
Wine Advocate: 95 / 100 Punkte
"Bursting with striking red-fruit aromas and delicate cinnamon, clove and star anise notes, the 2018 Chateauneuf du Pape is another terrific vintage from this estate. While certainly full-bodied and powerful, it`s also lithe and silky, with an almost airy feel on the palate that translates into great elegance on the lengthy finish. Drink 2020 - 2030."
Vinous: 94-96 / 100 Punkte
"Deep magenta. Intensely perfumed, mineral-tinged raspberry and cherry preserve scents are complicated by garrigue and Moroccan spice nuances. Juicy and appealingly sweet, displaying fleshy red fruit liqueur, spicecake and lavender pastille flavors that deepen steadily on the back half. Smoothly balances richness and energy and finishes extremely long and sappy, with smooth, harmonious tannins and a strong echo of candied flowers."

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."