2021 Clos de L’Oratoire des Papes, Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc “Cuvée Les Choregies” Rhône Valley, France.
What an incredible treat it was to try the extremely rare Clos de L’Oratoire des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Cuvée Les Choregies, made from a unique blend of Clairette 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. Much less dense or oily than Châteauneuf Blancs with the more common Roussanne based versions, the Clos de L’Oratoire des Papes has fine floral aromatics and a mineral driven core of acidity to go with a medium/full bodied palate of white peach, tangerine citrus, fleshy melon and very subtle tropical fruit, along with a stony character, a touch of vanilla, clove, ginger and a lingering salinity. This is outstanding stuff, rounded and elegant, but vibrant and pure, and it’s wildly seductive, especially for those that love rarity Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blancs. Now of course, Clos de L’Oratoire des Papes is most famous for their power Châteauneuf Rouge, with good reason, and I also had a chance to dig into one of their nicely aged examples from the 2016 vintage which was near to perfection, but the Les Choregies Cuvée Blanc quietly stole the show! There are some treasured Châteauneuf whites out there, like Beaucastel, Vieux Telegraphe, Jerome Gradessi and a few others, but this one should be on your bucket list!
One of the most famous of Châteauneuf producers, 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. 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.) 96 Points, grapelive