Chapelle St. Theodoric CdP Le Grand Pin 2019 (750ML)

98 DE / 96-98 WA / 95-97 JD / 18+ JR

A cooling, very fine style, a little gentler on the palate than their Guigasse, finer, but then like a peacock's tail on the finish. Long, grippy and structural with perfectly ripe berry fruit. Saline, mineral, fresh and vibrant - highly impressive. 3,200 bottles made. 100% old vine Grenache grown on sand in lieu-dit Pignan, no destemming, aged for 24 months in old demi-muids.—Matt Walls, Decanter

The fabulous 2019 Chateauneuf du Pape Le Grand Pin features complex pine and floral nuances that perfectly complement its ripe black-cherry fruit notes. Full-bodied, lush and creamy-textured, this is wonderfully expansive and mouthfilling without being weighty, and it finishes with tremendous length, echoing with complex notes of cola and Campari-like spices. --JC, The Wine Advocate

The 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape Le Grand Pin is on another level and is a rich, concentrated yet incredibly fine and seamless 2019 that does everything right. Lots of black raspberry, candied violets, blueberries, sappy garrigue, and spring flower notes define the bouquet and it’s magical on the palate, with full-bodied richness, ultra-fine tannins, no hard edges, and flawless balance. It’s like a Grand Cru Burgundy from the Rhône.—Jeb Dunnuck

100% Grenache. Certified organic. Aged for 24 months in demi-muids. Cask sample.
Tasted blind. A deep nose, the dark side of Grenache – cocoa nib and dried bay leaves. Sandy firm tannins and lovely fruit character, sweet but with a cocoa note that adds depth and complexity. Really nicely put together wine. - Alistair Cooper MW, JancisRobinson .com

The wines from Chapelle St. Theodoric are pure and expressive displaying the complexities and subtleties from Grenache. There are two parcels; one in the lieu-dit La Guigasse, which is a pure sand soil and where the vines (all Grenache) range in age of from 50 to 100 year; and the other parcel at the top of Pignan, literally adjoining the vines of Château Rayas, also in pure sand and also pure, old vines Grenache.

The vinification is traditional, that is to say, whole-cluster, such as employed by Jacques Reynaud at Château Rayas, Laurent Charvin, Henri Bonneau. The two parcels are vinified and aged and bottled separately, but with the exact same treatment, the experiment being to find what terroir differences one might find in pure sand, between vines less than 200 meters apart, both on sand, pure Grenache and traditional vinification. The result has been a most exciting and successful experiment: The difference between the wines from these two parcels is clear and distinct. La Guigasse is the slightly richer of the two. The Grand Pin, perhaps because the sand is nearly pure white, perhaps the higher elevation or due to some other factor we have not yet determined, makes a wine that is lower in alcohol, more perfumed and finer. Les Sablons is wine from the two other cuvées and wines from the young vines from both lieux-dits. Aged in older barriques.