Famille Isabel Ferrando - Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2020 (750ml)
Price: $89.99
| Producer | Famille Isabel Ferrando |
| Country | France |
| Region | Rhone |
| Subregion | Chateauneuf du Pape |
| Varietal | Rhone Blend |
| Vintage | 2020 |
| Sku | 6817 |
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Famille Isabel Ferrando Description
This cuvee comes entirely from the Les Serres parcel and is primarily the fruit that used to make up the "Favier" and "Giraud" wines. 100% whole cluster made mostly in demi-muids; some amphora and glass demi-johns are also used.
Blend: 75% Grenache, 12% Cinsault, 11% Mourvèdre
Jeb Dunnuck: 98 Points
Now the flagship of this estate, the 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape is 75% Grenache and the rest Cinsault, Mourvedre, and a little Syrah. Sporting a deep ruby/purple hue, it offers a beautiful array of black raspberry and darker cherry fruit as well as lots of graphite, chalky minerality, Provençal garrigue, and spice. Beautiful on the palate as well, this medium to full-bodied effort has a layered, multi-dimensional mouthfeel, rock-solid underlying structure and concentration, building tannins, and a gorgeous finish.
Wine Advocate: 95 Points
Isabel Ferrando informed me during my visit that she planned to eliminate the Reserve Auguste Favier and Collection Charles Giraud bottlings, folding those lots and the "tradition" Saint-Prefert Châteauneuf into a single, combined wine under the Famille Isabel Ferrando label. The resulting blend she showed as the 2020 Famille Isabel Ferrando Chateauneuf du Pape is a fine effort, with layers of cola-like spice and hints of garrigue layered against a lush backdrop of cherries and raspberries. Medium to full-bodied and almost creamy in texture, it finishes long, silky and mouthwatering.
Decanter: 95 Points
This cuvée replaces the three historical red cuvées of the domaine (Classique, Auguste Favier and Charles Giraud). Quite introverted for now, seems to have everything required but needs time to knit together. Freshness, energy, fine and plentiful tannins with good acidity. While the alcohol is warming it is balanced. Could be very good in time, hard to judge now, but early signs are good and I'd like to see this again in bottle. From the galets roulés of lieu-dit Les Serres, fermented in concrete and then aged in concrete, old oak and amphora.
Wine Spectator: 94 Points
Approachable out of the gate, with gorgeous red fruit, wild strawberry, licorice root, dusty earth and lavender flavors joined by floral highlights. Beautifully textured and silky on the palate, with mineral intensity building on the palate, imparting nice persistence and length. A polished yet honest, characteristic wine. Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah and Mourvèdre.
Vinous: 94 Points
The 2020 Chateauneuf-du-Pape is distinctively elegant. A blend of 65% Grenache, 10% Cinsaut, 10% Mouvedre and other permitted varieties. It presents delicate aromas of juicy red and black fruits, licorice, dried herbs, black olive tapenade, and a pinch of white pepper. Plush tannins caress the medium to full-bodied palate, neatly balanced by fresh acidity.
