Château La Nerthe Les Granières de la Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Holiday fun, traditions and an occasion to open special wines to reminisce and toast distance friends - Château La Nerthe Les Granières de la Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape

T'is the holiday season and what has become an annual highlight and ritual has been the opening of a package from 'our French Friends' as they sign each of the gifts, an extraordinary package of gifts, delicacies and favorite treats from the South of France - chocolates, foie gras, nougates, French perfume, Renaissance arts calendar and more.

A visit to the Speziani family home was one of the drivers and highlights of our visit to Aix-en-Provence and the Luberon this past summer. Our relationship with them dates back to our hosting Philipe as a French exchange student in our home when son Alec was his sponsor back in High School.

Murielle prepared an incredible authentic Provencale dinner for the occasion which we featured in an earlier post at that time.

The arrival of the 'package' was texted to the broader family with the caption, "It's HERE". Actually there were two packages delivered at two times. They were opened with great ceremony with Alec and Vivianna present as we gleefully opened and sorted and laid out each item with delight.

The family fun continued as the text announcement of the 'arrival' prompted replies from family members who immediately responded bidding 'dib's' on favorite specialties such as this from Erin (below).

The conversation quickly centered on memories of our gala trip and pledges to return again soon and often and to coax our French Friends to come visit us in America.  

We pulled from the cellar two gala bottles of wine to commemorate and toast the occasion and the memories of our trip to France, our visit with friends there, and visiting their home and the gala dinner we enjoyed there.

For the occasion, to celebrate the opening and to toast our "French Family and Friends", we opened a Château La Nerthe Les Granières de la Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape to commemorate our visit to the region and the Chateau that we visited during our trip. 

Château La Nerthe Les Granières de la Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2013

The Winemaker's Notes for this release cite, "Bright red color with darker hints. On the nose, rich red berries suchas black currant and ripe cherry with a soft spicy touch. On thepalate soft tannins, showing berry fruits and sweet spices as well"

This label was awarded 90 points by both Wine Spectator and Wine and Spirits.  It was a perfect toast for the festive afternoon with the fruit and chocolate delicacies.

Bright ruby colored, bright vibrant expressive currant and red berry fruits highlight by notes of spice, and what WS refers to as "twinges of blood orange, tea and singed sandalwood", turning to fine-grained smooth tannins on the long finish.

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2494536

http://www.chateaulanerthe.com/ 

A visit to Château La Nerthe

A visit to Château La Nerthe, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

During our recent trip to Provence we visited Château La Nerthe, one of the oldest estates in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. This was a return visit to the estate that we visited during our first trip to the region back in 1998. We hold in our cellar or have consumed a dozen vintages of Château La Nerthe dating back to the eighties. We also visited the estate of Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe as the other highlight of our visit to the appellations Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

Sheri, Belle Silvie, Rick - La Nerthe 1998

Alec, Rick, La Nerthe 2019

The Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation is named in recognition of the Popes who reigned in the area in the fourteenth century. It actually means "New Castle of the Pope" referring to the time in the 14th century when the pope resided in Avignon, not in Rome. Historic documents noted grape vines covering the territory of Châteauneuf-du-Pape dating back as early as 1157. 

Geoffroy, the bishop of Avignon, had a vineyard within the territory of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Clement V, the first Avignon Pope recognized the special soils of Châteauneuf-du-Pape in 1314. His successor, John XXII, in 1316, established the summer residence of the papacy in the village of Avignon. He recognized the distinctive terroir of the region for growing wine grapes and granted the wine produced there the rank of "Vin du Pape". He regularly drank the wines from the vineyards ‘in the north’ and did much to improve viticulture practices there. 

Pope John XXII chose what he considered the ideal location for a residence and vineyard site, the hillock overlooking the Rhône Valley about halfway between Avignon and Orange –  Châteauneuf – and he took over the area and constructed the castle there, starting in 1317, and completing it in 1333. He planted grapevines and olive trees in the area.

According to the historic Apostolic Chamber archives, there were more than 3 million grapevines in Châteauneuf in 1334 covering more than 1500 acres.

Pope John XXII, promoted winemaking and production in the area and as a result, production increased to over three thousand liters per year. As the wines of Châteauneuf gained notoriety from being erved to ambassadors and representatives of foreign courts, they were shipped in barrels to Italy, Germany and Britain. 
 
From the eighteenth century, the visionary winemakers of Chateauneuf-du-Pape were shipping their wine in bottles instead of using barrels, an important new step obtaining brand awareness in other parts of the world.

Château La Nerthe was recorded to be shipping it's wines in bottles as early as 1776, the year of the American Revolution.  The popularity and notoriety of the wines of Châteauneuf-du-Pape continued to spread through the 19th century.
 
In 1929, the Syndicat of Châteauneuf-du-Pape winegrowers assigned three experts to establish “the conditions of territorial origin and faithful, constant, and local traditions concerning the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation”. They issued a report in 1929 after four years of deliberations, and it was ratified. As a result, the Châteauneuf-du-Pape winegrowers became the first in all of France to impose production parameters. Their example was soon followed by many other French vignerons, as more and more regions across France adopted their model, eventually resulting in a nationwide set of appellation regulations.

Under the leadership and legal expertise of Baron Le Roy, the Cour de Cassation (French court of last resort) defined appellation boundaries and production conditions in November 1933. After several years of proceedings, in May, 1936, the decree of the appellation was published and Châteauneuf-du-Pape become the first wine-making Appellation-Origin-Controllee, AOC of France.
 
The appellation rules remain in force today to protect and guarantee the quality of Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines. The regulated vineyards now cover over 7900 acres in the towns of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Bédarrides Courthézon, Orange and Sorgue.

In 1937, the union of the owners of the appellation of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, created an original bottle, the famous bottle with the embossed logo, the crest or crossed keys, that is emblematic of Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines. 

There is a notch in the bottom rim of the CDP glass bottle. I often have fun with this, handing the bottle to someone and challenging them to explain its purpose. Most often, the response is that it somehow relates to the 'racking' or turning of the bottles. Of course, that is not done with red wines, rather is a procedure related to producing and aging sparkling wine or Champagne. Since the bottles of Châteauneuf-du-Pape have the emblem embossed in the glass, it matters where the label is placed on the bottle. Hence, the notch in the bottle allows the bottling and labeling machine to align the label with the glass emblem!

The historic Château La Nerthe estate dates back to 1560. The historic Château was built in 1736. Château La Nerthe was one of the first estates to bottle their own wine beginning as early as 1784. Château La Nerthe was also one of the first, if not the first estate in Châteauneuf-du-Pape to export their wine outside of France. Another first for the estate was that Château La Nerthe began the practice of de-stemming 100% of their vines in the 1800’s. By this point in time, Château La Nerthe was the most expensive wine from the Southern Rhône.

Rick and Linda, Château La Nerthe

In 1870, the Tulle de Villefranche family sold the property to the Joseph Ducos family. The sale was necessary largely due to the devastation of the vineyards by Phylloxera, the louse that attacked the roots of the vines, forcing investing in replanting of the vineyards with new resistant root stock.

The Ducos family maintained ownership of the property until 1941 when Château La Nerthe was bought at an auction by the Leclerc and Motte families. The estate was occupied by the invading German army during the war and the property was severely debilitated. The Germans used the elegant Chateau as a headquarters for the region and the wine cellars served as bomb shelters. 

By 1985, Château La Nerthe had become dilapidated and was put up for sale by the Dereumaux family. In 1986, the property was acquired by the Richard family in partnership with David and Foillard negociants. A complete renovation of the estate took place and much of the vineyards were replanted. The new owners changed the spelling back to what it was by adding back the “h” that had been dropped earlier. The new labels once again displayed the original spelling of Château La Nerthe.

In 1991, Château La Nerthe expanded their land holdings with the purchase of an additional 54 acres of vineyards, thereby creating one of the largest estates in the Southern Rhône with 222 acres under vine.

The vineyards and the château are located southeast of the village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The vines are planted in La Crau, Les Escondudes, La Reves and the La Nerthe lieux-dits (localities). 

The La Nerthe estate has all the terroirs of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation within the property. The 222 acres of La Nerthe vineyards are located in two single blocks around the castle. 

The exceptional, sloped terroir is the classic legendary soil of the appellation, sandy-clay with the surface covered by a layer of the famous ‘galets roulés’, the large, round, well-worn stones that originated in the Alps and were carried down to the Rhône by the ice age glaciers. These large pebbles store the heat during the day and release it at night aiding the ripening of the grapes. The property also has a natural spring on the grounds, which can be beneficial to the vines during periods of drought which commonly affect the region.

The La Nerthe vineyards are comprised of two large blocks. There is 148 acres of vines adjacent to and in front of the chateau. There, the soil is largely sand and clay in the terroir. The remaining 74 acres are behind the château and abut the plateau of La Crau, which sits behind and above the Chateau, which has more rocks and the stones, known as galets in the region. 

Lane leading up to
Château La Nerthe estate.

Like some of the other legendary producers in the area such as Château Vieux Telegraph and Château Beaucastel, the vineyards of Château La Nerthe are planted with all 13 types of grapes allowed in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation. The average vine age is over 40 years old.  

 

While the property has plantings of all 13 of the appellation’s permitted varietals, Grenache, Mourvèdre and Syrah dominate the red blend. The estate has one of the highest proportions of white vines in the region and produces a special white cuvée – Clos de Beauvenir – sourced from grapes from the clos directly in front of the château.

All the viticulture in the Château La Nerthe vineyards is done using organic farming techniques. 

 
Starting with the 2015 vintage, Ralph Garcin, who previously worked for Jaboulet in Hermitage, was appointed general manager and winemaker, placed in charge of the estate and all its winemaking operations. He has set upon an ambitious program of process and technical improvements. He introduced vinification by plot and is investing in smaller fermentation tanks and larger ageing vessels to showcase the quality of the fruit in the cellar. He’s also been making improvements to their viticultural practices, such as introducing organic farming.

Château La Nerthe library collection

Our tour included the historic cellars that are underneath the château, the tank rooms, the barrel storage rooms, and the historic wine library storage cellars. We then were hosted in the hospitality center and served a flight of the recent vintage releases of the wines.  

The wine tasting flight:

We tasted the Château La Nerthe Cuvee-des-Cadettes Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2016. This could be considered their 'flagship' wine, it is the premium label, not made every year, rather, only in the finest vintages. Cuvee-des-Cadeetes is approximately one-third each Grenache, Syrah and Mourvdre. Eighty percent of the wine spends a year in new oak barrels.

The standard flagship label is Château La Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape, 2015, 2016 and 2018, a red blend comprising as many as all thirteen varietals grown 100% on the estate property - 55% Grenache, 17% Syrah, 15% Mourvedre, 7% Cinsault, 3% Counoise and the remaining 3% is a blend of the other varietals planted in the vineyard.

La Nerthe oak barrel storage cellar

The wine is aged in variety of tanks and large barrels depending on the blend and the characteristics of the vintage, typically for 12 to 18 months in tanks, about twenty percent new French Oak barrels, and used French oak barrels. 

Typically it is best consumed after 5 to 8 years of aging, it can easily be held for several decades depending on the vintage, and in top years can hold its prime drinking window for 25 to 35 years. 

Approximately 15,000 cases are produced each year.

La Nerthe Les Cassagnes Cote du Rhone Villages, 2015, a white wine blend comprised of Grenache Blanc / Garnacha Blanca (25%) Roussanne (25%),and the remaining 50% Viognier.

Chateau La Nerthe Clos de Beauvenir 2014, a blend of 60% Roussanne and 40% Clairette. Like Cuvee-des-Cadettes, Clos de Beauvenir is only produced in select vintages. The production is small, fewer than 250 cases of the special white wine in a release year.

Chateau La Nerthe Clos de Beauvenir is made from a blend of 60% Roussanne and 40% Clairette. Clos de Beauvenir is only produced in select vintages. The production is always quite small. The estate never makes over 250 cases of the special white wine.
Read more at:https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/rhone-wines-cote-rotie-hermitage-chateauneuf-du-pape/chateauneuf-du-pape-wine-producer-profiles/chateau-la-nerthe-chateauneuf-du-pape-rhone-wine/

 

La Nerthe Côtes du Rhône Les Cassagnes Rose

Château La Nerthe Côtes du Rhône Villages Les Cassagnes Rose 2018 

We just confirmed our reservation for our visit to Château La Nerthe in Châteauneuf-du-Pape during our trip to the Southern Rhône the end of this month. We're excited to return to the Château that was one of the highlights to our trip to Châteauneuf-du-Pape back in 1998.

Château La Nerthe is one of the oldest estates in Châteauneuf-du-Pape which dates back to 1560. The historic Château (right) was built in 1736.

Château La Nerthe was one of the first estates to bottle their own wine starting in 1784. Château La Nerthe was also one of the first estates in Châteauneuf-du-Pape to export their wine outside of France. When they pioneered the practice of de-stemming 100% of their vines in the 1800’s, Château La Nerthe was the most expensive wine from the Southern Rhône.

The estate boasts an exceptional, sloped terroir with soils of sandy-clay and a layer of large, round, well-worn galet stones which are renowned in the region. All the terroirs of Châteauneuf-du-Pape (CDP) exist at the estate and all 13 of the CDP AOC (Appellation Original Controllee) permitted primary varietals are planted. The average vine age is 40+ years old. All of the grapes are handpicked and all of the wines are estate bottled.

The property atrophied and fell into some disrepair before the Richard family in a partnership with David and Foillard negociants purchased the historic La Nerthe in 1986 with a vision and mission to restore it to its earlier eminence. They invested in the property and conducted a complete renovation of the estate and much of the vineyards were replanted. In 1991, Château La Nerthe expanded their holdings with the purchase of 54 acres of vineyards creating one of the largest estates in the Southern Rhône with 222 acres under vine.

Starting with the 2015 vintage, Ralph Garcin was placed in charge of the estate and its winemaking.

A native of Provence, he grew up in a wine family with vineyards. He earned a degree in winemaking and agricultural engineering in Montpellier. He started his career in the Northern Rhône as assistant winemaker and buyer at M.Chapoutier. He spent time exploring new world international winemaking abroad in both Australia and Oregon. Returning to France, he became Technical Director and Head Winemaker for the Southern Rhône operations at the Burgundy-based company Boisset. After five years he joined Paul Jaboulet Ainé as Winemaker and Buyer. From there he joined Château La Nerthe as Managing Director and Winemaker.

In preparation for our visit, we're revisiting several of their labels that we hold in our cellar or, in this case, have picked up their current releases of labels we have not experienced before.

Château La Nerthe Côtes du Rhône Villages Les Cassagnes Rose 2018

We have just this summer started exploring rose wines and were delighted to find this Les Cassagnes Rose label from Château La Nerthe. This is sourced and produced in the Côtes du Rhône Villages appellation which is adjacent to Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

This Rose wine is a blend of Châteauneuf-du-Pape varietals with 60% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 10% Cinsault, 5% Mourvedre, and 5% Carignan. 

The fruits for this label are sourced from Côtes du Rhône Villages, the region and districts on the slopes and foothills above the Southern Rhône Valley beyond Châteauneuf-du-Pape where rosé wine varietals  are produced. 

This Cotes-du-Rhone rosé is crafted from 30+ year old vineyards planted in soils rich with calcareous sandstone and positioned on gently undulating slopes for optimal sun exposure.

The Côtes du Rhône Villages AOC rules for the proportion of the primary, supplemental and accessory grape varieties in the blend for AOC authorized wines are:

• White wines: a minimum of 80% of the main grape varieties.
• Red and rosé wines:
  • The main grape variety (Grenache noir) must make up at least 50%.
  • The supplementary grape varieties Syrah and Mourvèdre together must make up at least 20% of the blend.
  • The main and supplementary grape varieties must together make up at least 80% of the blend.
  • The accessory grape varieties are restricted to a maximum of 20% of the blend.

Winemaker Notes for this wine: "The color is rust orange pale pink fuchsia, very bright. The nose is frank, lively, expressive, on white flowers and citrus fruits (pink grapefruit). The palate is fresh and the gooseberry meets again the grapefruit. A wine of great freshness and easy pleasure!"

This is an easy drinking refreshing wine for the hot days of mid-summer. It shows bright pink fuscia color, medium body, expressive forward flavors of pear and peach are accented by floral and citrus notes and hints of gooseberry and spices on the full flavorful finish. 

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3256518

http://www.chateaulanerthe.fr/

Château La Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Granières de la Nerthe 2013

Château La Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Granières de la Nerthe 2013

This Les Granières de La Nerthe is the “second” wine of Château La Nerthe, made from younger vines from the Estate. This is a Rhone style blend in the following proportions:  45% Grenache, 24% Syrah, 18% Mourvedre, 8% Cinsault, and the balance of 5% from “others”. While these are the typical primary varietals of a CDP, it should be noted that the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation rules allow for up to thirteen specified varietals to be included in the blend. Their second label is aged for a shorter period of just 6 months in a combination of cement vats and larger oak foudre that results in a more fruit forward style of Châteauneuf.

I note that I visited the historic Château La Nerthe (right) during my Châteauneuf-du-Pape tour back in 1998, so I follow and collect this producer's wine. Château La Nerthe have been producing wines at the Estate since 1560. The label seemed to disappear from our market for a couple years so I was happy to see it reappear on the shelves at Binny's, our local wine merchant. 

That said, their premier label Chateau La Nerthe Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee des Cadettes is now at a new price point at $125 per bottle, significantly higher than what I would consider to be comparable benchmark wines such as Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape or Chateau Vieux Telegraph. I should note it was reduced to a sale price to be more comparable to those other labels. I purchased some at the lower price. At less than half the price however, Les Granières de La Nerthe does offer CDP at a more affordable QPR (quality price ratio). These are two other Estates that I visited during this trip that I also collect for our cellar. Interestingly, the 2015 Beaucastel contains all thirteen of the CDP grape varietals.

While I was delighted to discover this second label of La Nerthe in our market, I admit I was a bit disappointed by it, perhaps due to my lofty expectations, or hopes. I was excited to try this so I bought some and made a point to pick up some BBQ brisket on the way home to try the combination. Perhaps, or apparently, my expectations were unrealistic, comparing it to the flagship first label.

Château La Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Granières de la Nerthe 2013

This was garnet colored with a slight brownish hue, not due to deterioration, somewhat opaque, medium bodied, lighter than I expected. The flavor profile is what Wine Spectator aptly referred to as "racy red currant and raspberry coulis flavors, enhanced by twinges of blood orange, tea and singed sandalwood". 

WS gave it 90 points. I give it 88 points due the lighter body, more subdued fruits, and narrow flavor profile. I believe this might also be due to the higher percentage of Grenache in the blend over the more fruit forward Syrah which we tend to favor. I'll try it again tonight after opening and settling and see if there is affect.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2494536

http://www.chateaulanerthe.fr/

Château La Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape 1996

Château La Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape 1996

Took this bottle to friends Bob and Gloria's for New Years Eve, Eve dinner party. Many threads here. I tasted this wine and this vintage at the Chateau during my Rhone/Provence/CDP trip back in '99. The elegant, picturesque and historic Chateau (below) was one of the highlights of a memorable week there.

Château La Nerthe sits on the brow of the hill on the outskirts of the village of  Châteauneuf-du-Pape surrounded by 225 acres of vineyards overlooking the small country road that heads down to the city of Avignon.

The cave cellars under the Chateau were occupied by the German Nazis during WWII as their command center for the southern Rhone Valley.

The Chateau, vineyards, country lane and cellars are shown on my travelogue page.

Adjacent to the property is the equally picturesque and historic Les Caves du Château Des Fines Roche, winery, hotel and fine dining restaurant situated in a classic old castle resplendent with turrets and all (shown left). One of the castle tower turrets was my guest bedroom when we stayed there. We walked down the rustic lane over to Château La Nerthe for our tasting appointment there.

I took a bottle of this vintage to Bob's and Gloria's for a celebration dinner for Bob's father, George's birthday, back around that time. George raved about this wine and it was a memorable evening. George passed on since and just recently Bob's mother passed on as well. So, tonight was a bit of a tribute and remembrance to them as we close out the year.

This La Nerthe overachieved and exceeded expectations tonight. Coming upon twenty years of age, I was expecting it to show its age and be in the last chapter of its aging profile.

We still hold and have served several bottles of '96 Chateau Beaucastel which also came from that trip, and it's fruit is quite suppressed and is showing its age a bit, hence, I used it as a barometer of what to expect.

When I opened the bottle, there was a slight bit of cloudiness and grey tinge to the color that I feared did not bode well for what was to come. Despite that, the fruit was vibrant, the body well composed and balanced and overall, it presented itself remarkably well, indeed.

Deep ruby colored with a bit of cloudiness and grayish hue, medium bodied, nice balance and soft finesse, floral highlights and the black cherry a red berry fruits were bright and vibrant, turning to tones of tapenade, baking spices, and hints of leather, with medium, soft tannins and decent medium acidity.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=9371