Cuvée des Cadettes Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2015
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France / Rhône
Cuvée des Cadettes is not a selection made in the cellar, but a wine crafted from a unique, 20 acre vineyard planted with 85 to 100 year old vines. This Cuvée is a cofermentation of hand harvested and hand sorted grenache, syrah and mourvèdre. Alcoholic fermentation occurs directly after maceration with wild yeast native to the vineyard. The intensity of pumping over and punching down is defined by tasting the fermenting juice to ensure the best extraction of the berry compounds. Maceration lasts 18 to 20 days, and the wines are racked into concrete tanks for malolactic fermentation. The wine is aged 12 months in 100% small French oak barrels and blending takes place shortly before bottling.
Harvest Note
2015 was a generous vintage. Warm weather and storms arrived at the right moment allowing 2015 in Châteauneuf-du-Pape to be described as generous in every sense of the term. Generous in color, structure and maturity. But also generous in quantity, which is quite rare in this appellation, which is well known for the weakness of its yields. After a normal spring, in terms of rainfall (6.7 inches), summer was dry and hot with temperatures exceeding 99° F. From mid-June to mid-August rainfalls were less than 2 inches, which is low, but more than in 2010 and 2011 which were already among the sunniest years. The 2015 crop maturity was made under good conditions with storms in mid-September not affecting the quality of the vintage. The harvest was spread over a number of weeks, which allowed fermentations to take place easily from beginning to end, giving birth to rich, very balanced wines and with beautiful complexity.
Tasting Note
This Cuvée is produced only in the best vintages. Expressive nose with notes of incredible youth on sweet spices, black cherries and fermentation aromas. Once again is the freshness, youth and red fruits expression on the palate: notes of fresh grapes are superimposed on those of black fruits. A rich, complex and generous wine with discreet ageing notes, silky and ripe tannins. A delicious wine to keep for great occasions for the next decade.
Technical Data
GRAPES: 35% Grenache, 33% Mourvedre, 32% Syrah
APPELLATION: Chateauneuf-du-Pape
PH: 3.36
ACIDITY: 5.01 g/l
ABV: 14.5%
Unique Selling Points
- Produced by one of Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s oldest and most storied estates
- Certified AB Organic – protecting the environment since 1998
- Estate grown, hand harvested, estate bottled
- Average vine age – 85+ years
One of Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s oldest estates, archives affirm Château La Nerthe’s existence as early as 1560 and suggest an even more distant past dating to the dawn of the region’s wine culture in the 12th century.
Rémi Jean, Managing Director & Winemaker
About the Grape
Grenache
Grenache is loaded with dense, lusty aromas and flavors of black cherry, blackcurrant, jam, pepper and licorice, with a palate-coating texture and high alcohol.
Mourvèdre
Mourvèdre makes big, meaty, rustic wines high in alcohol, acidity and tannin, with moderate black fruit characters. Shows aromas and flavors of wild Provençal herbs, leather, mushrooms and barnyard.
Syrah
Syrah has seductively dense, rich, chewy black berry aromas and flavors, with notes of tar, wood smoke, bacon, leather, chocolate, and sometimes violets. The tannins are firm yet elegant.
