2022 Clos de L’Oratoire des Papes, Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc “Cuvée Les Choregies” Rhône Valley, France.
I must say, this wine again, is absolutely fantastic and quickly moving up my rankings, becoming one of my top ten white wines of the year, showing off incredible palate presence, but still lively and fresh with precision, purity and distinctive elegance, not often associated with the Châteauneuf du Pape region! This extremely rare Clos de L’Oratoire des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Cuvée Les Choregies, made by Edouard Guérin, is a unique blend of Clairette Blanche and Bourboulenc, which was mostly fermented and aged in Amphora, along with some 300L barrels, making for a special wine of delicacy, but depth and tension. The hugely talented Guérin, here at Clos de L’Oratoire des Papes, says that due to climate change the usually mix of white grapes here in the region are not suited for the conditions anymore and especially the style he wants to make, so he chose to use Clairette Blanche and Bourboulenc, which unlike Roussanne, that prefers a cooler climate, don’t become oily or high in natural alcohol. Just as the 2021 showed, the 2022 Clos de L’Oratoire des Papes gives delicate floral aromatics and a mineral driven core of acidity to go with its dry and crisply focused palate of bright and fleshy white nectarine, tangerine/lemon citrus, Summer melon and mango fruits, along with flinty, saline infused wet rock, a touch of verbena, almond, vanilla ginger spice and a hint of orange blossom. There’s no lack of hedonistic pleasure here, and there is a lush textural feel, but the added degree of tension is what brings the greatest reward here and makes this very limited cuvée worth every penny. As mentioned before, Clos de L’Oratoire des Papes is most famous for their powerful and age worthy Châteauneuf Rouges, with good reason, and I also had a chance to dig into some of their nicely aged examples again, including the exceptionally drinking 2014, and (I) highly recommend the whole stellar collection here.
The ultra sought after and critically acclaimed Clos de L’Oratoire des Papes, is set on the site of an 18th century Priory at the edge of this historic appellation in the Southern Rhône Valley. This unique and timeless terroir, set on Urgonian limestone soils is where both L’Oratoire’s vines and underground cellars are located. The US importer for Clos de L’Oratoire de Papes, Massanois says that Edouard Guérin uses his passion and winemaking savoir-faire in the vineyards and cellars alike in order to produce the deepest, most energetic and expressive wines possible, which after tasting this beauty, seems very true. Massanois adds that since 2008, the vines have been cultivated using only organic and sustainable practices and 100% natural fertilizers are employed here, all with the goal of harmonizing with nature in order to achieve optimum balance in the vines to produce wines of purity and depth. The terroir here is classic Châteauneuf with an underpinning of the Urgonian limestone soil with a mix of hardened clay, sand and pebbles. The exact percentage of the varietals is not given, but Guérin told me that the cuvée is dominated by the Clairette, but that the Bourboulenc still plays a distinctive supporting role here. I was thrilled to meet Guérin earlier this year and learn more about his beautifully crafted wines in Chicago, where I tasted through the range. For this Les Choregies Châteauneuf Blanc, the grape harvest was carried out by hand and the clusters are carefully sorted before (a) direct pressing of the whole clusters and a partial settling of juice. Then the Les Chorégies was vinified in 600L ceramic amphora and 300L barrels with no temperature control so as to ensure the most natural fermentation possible, then rested 9 months before bottling, after which the wine was stored in the cellar for a full year before release. This is not easy to find, nor is it cheap, but it has sublime quality and charm, making it a worthy catch for those that appreciate these limited bottlings.
($145 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive