2016 Clos de L’Oratoire des Papes, Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge “Les Choregies” Rhône Valley, France.
With ten years of age, this gorgeous dark garnet hued L’Oratoire Les Chogeries Châteauneuf Rouge is fully integrated, luxuriously chocolatey and deep in terroir driven flavors with boysenberry, dusty plum, black cherry and Mission fig fruits, along with lavender, creme de cassis, coco powder, anise, a touch of earthy truffle, subtle peppery notes and cedary wood. The full bodied palate is rich, ripely opulent and the finish is incredible in length and pleasure, while also having an underlying structural presence, muscle not flab, but with velvety tannins and a compelling poise. This was a fabulous wine and exacting what you’d want from a top echelon Châteauneuf-du-Pape, like a Barolo Riserva or Gand Cru Burgundy, this wine leaves no doubt about where it came from and wears that badge proudly in the glass. I have mostly spent my wine career coveting and enjoying Vieux Telegraphe, when I went for a Châteauneuf, and while they do remain a favorite, over the last few years I’ve gotten to know these L’Oratoire wines and they very much have impressed me and I’ve enjoyed all of their offerings, but especially some of their cellar aged wines like this one. Hats off to the winery for holding back and releasing some of their aged library wines at a later date without a huge premium to pay, making their wines very attractive for enthusiasts and restaurants that want to add texture and nuance to their wine lists, as well as importer Massanois for bringing in these rarities. As mentioned in my prior review, I was thrilled to meet Guérin earlier this year and learn more about his beautifully crafted wines in Chicago, where I tasted through his full range of bottlings. There’s a solid core of wines here at Clos de L’Oratoire des Papes and this label certainly a sign of quality, and as noted, the whites here are fantastic as well, so don’t pass up on anything.
The iconic, highly 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. Made from the traditional old vine Grenache, mainly, along with good does of Syrah and Mourvèdre the special cuvée Les Choregies was crafted with mainly whole bunches, which winemaker Edouard Guérin macerates and ferments in18.7HL tuns with a long vatting period, with submerged cap, to allow deep extraction and balancing structure before the must gets pressed to a combination of 300-liter barrels and ceramic amphoras. Each vintage sees a slightly different whole cluster amount and which vessels the wine gets, but it is aged for 12 months, then the final blend goes to cement vats for another 6 months before bottling, with this ultra exclusive signature cuvée rested in bottle a further 18 months. I highly recommend searching out the current vintages regular Châteauneuf as well, but definitely look for this 2016 Les Choregies, it is drinking amazing right now and should go another 10 years or so with ease!
($210 Est.) 97 Points, grapelive