Wine Advisor
M. Chapoutier, Chateauneuf Du Pape Barbe Rac 2017
Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Josh Raynolds
Full bright-hued ruby. Highly perfumed, expansive aromas of ripe red berries, candied cherry exotic spices and lavender pick up a smoky mineral note as the wine opens up. Chewy and focused on the palate, offering concentrated black raspberry, bitter cherry and floral pastille flavors that show a suave interplay of richness and vivacity. Turns sweeter on the impressively long, penetrating finish, which features steadily building tannins and insistent cherry, lavender and spice qualities. All concrete.
Reviewed by: Joe Czerwinski
Exceptionally low yields in the 2017 Chateauneuf du Pape Barbe Rac contribute to this wine's almost black hue. It's crazy-concentrated, full-bodied and rich but boasts incredible floral aromas of roses and violets, ripe cherry and stone fruit flavors and exotic spice notes. This looks really special.
Reviewed by: Joe Czerwinski
Produced from yields of just 15 hectoliters per hectare, the 2017 Chateauneuf du Pape Barbe Rac is a powerful, 100% Grenache wine raised in concrete. It's a big, full-bodied beauty, loaded with scents of kirsch and framboise, stuffed with ripe tannins and with a finish that lasts for several minutes. Give it 5 years in the cellar and drink it over the next decade or so.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
An array of captivatingly intense raspberries and red plums with licorice and some wild-herb nuances, too. There’s a very ripe feel to the super plush, open and voluminous palate. Ripe, smooth finish. Drink over the next decade or more.
About the Producer
Founded in 1808, M. Chapoutier owns 175 hectares of vines in five appellations in the Rhone Valley and is now run by the energetic and brilliant Michel Chapoutier. Since Michel started running the estate, the quality of the winemaking has improved very quickly and the philosophy of winemaking has changed considerably. Michel Chapoutier's achievements caused an instant sensation in the winemaking world and he completely changed the way Chapoutier wines were made and the winemaking process, eventually making wines to rival those made by Marcel Guigal, one of the best winemakers in the Rhone Valley. The vineyards of Château Sapoutier range from the Rhone Valley to Châteauneuf-du-Pape, with a number of quality vineyards planted with Syrah, Grenache, Marsanne, Roussanne and other major grape varieties. The winery is "mono-varietal" (i.e. making wines from a single variety), for example, all Syrah for the Châteauneuf-du-Rotie wines, all Marsanne for the Hermitage whites and all Chateauneuf-du-Pape wines. The wines of Chateauneuf-du-Pape are all Grenache. Château Sapoutier has worked tirelessly to improve the quality of its wines, even though each single vineyard produces far more than the 500 cases of fine wine. Since 1989, Château Sapoutier has been using biodynamic farming and winemaking methods with the aim of producing wines that are the purest and closest to the natural terroir. Every decision, every step of the viticultural and winemaking process is designed to add to the terroir, varietal character and vintage identity of the wines. Only wild yeasts are used for fermentation and the wines are made in small oak barrels. The best red and white wines are not clarified or filtered before bottling.
