2016 Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc Cuvee a Tempo

Deeper and richer than the classic cuvée, the 2016 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée A Tempo Blanc is a tiny production, luxury cuvée based on Clairette, Grenache Blanc and Roussanne. Exotic notes of candied lemons, lime, honeysuckle, chamomile, and exotic flowers give way to a medium-bodied, vibrant, racy white that has an incredible sense of tension and vibrancy. It picks up more and more minerality with time in the glass, is beautifully balanced, and is a singular wine from the estate. I’ve included the Château Pégau and the Selection Laurence Feraud here as well as the normal Domaine du Pégau releases. Looking at the vintages reviewed here, I was only able to taste the 2017 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée from the 2017 vintage, so I’m not sure if there will be a Cuvée Da Capo, although I would be surprised not to see one, given the quality of the vintage. The two 2016s are still in foudre and barrel, but this is an undeniably great vintage for this estate, and the wines will surpass what was achieved in 2015, which are great wines in their own right. The 2015s showed beautifully from bottle, and this is a vintage compared to 2010 by Laurence, although I don’t completely share that belief. There’s a firmness in the 2015s that’s nor far off the 2005s, but both the Cuvée Réservée and Cuvée Da Capo are incredibly concentrated and will be very long lived. There are two vintages of the Cuvée Laurence reviewed as well, and as I’ve written in the past, this is the same wine as the Cuvée Réservée only aged longer, which normally gives the wine a more evolved, rounded style. In short, this is an undeniable reference point for traditionally made Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and life is too short not to drink copious quantities of Pégau!

One of the best white Châteauneufs I've tasted—outdoing its fine performance last year prior to bottling—the 2016 Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc Cuvee A Tempo is equal parts Clairette, Grenache Blanc and Roussanne, vinified and aged in a combination of barrique, concrete egg and stainless steel. Full-bodied, rich and lush, it shows honeyed bergamot and pineapple fruit balanced by clean citrus and anise notes. Bravo!

34% Clairette, 33% Grenache Blanc, 33% Roussanne. Lovely peach skin and bitter orange fruit – loads of flavour and texture and density. Loads of substance without being too weighty and corpulent, and the sort of intensity that should mature well – in fact, this reminds me of Hermitage in that respect. (RH)