Chateau Maucoil Chateauneuf-du-Pape Privilege Red Magnum 2009 ~ Southern Rhone, France

95/100 Decanter
92/100 Wine Spectator

Bronze - Robert Parker, Wine Advocate
Bronze - Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider
Bronze - Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (2007 vintage)
Bronze - Concours de Feminalise (2007 vintage)

Organic

Decanter "Distinctive nose with a toasty, smoky character. Firm structure, good ripeness, plenty of fleshy texture and very good length."

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate "The 2009 Chateauneuf du Pape Privilege reveals a darker ruby color as well as slightly deeper red and dark berry fruit intermixed with strawberries, notes of tree bark and spice box. It possesses an impressive lightness, medium to full body, and a generous, round texture with slightly more concentration and intensity than the Tradition."

Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider "On the lighter side, with soft, round textures , the fruit is bright, with a lean to the red cherry and wild strawberry side of the style range."

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate "The deep ruby/purple-tinged 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape Privilege offers a moderately intense bouquet of black currant liqueur, black cherries, licorice, spice box, and a hint of roasted herbs. This deep, full-bodied, impressively endowed effort should drink beautifully young given the sweetness of the tannins and the high glycerin level." (2007 vintage)

Grenache (50%) Syrah (15%) mourvèdre (12%), Cinsault (8%) Clairette and Bourboulenc (5%)
Alcohol: 14.5%

The history of Château Maucoil began several centuries ago. Ancient documents state that its first occupants were Romans who set up a base for Caesar’s legions. Later, Joseph de La Pise, Lord of Maucoil and archivist of the House of Orange-Nassau, the Dutch royal family, inherited the estate and the castle which was built in 1624. From then on, winegrowing became an intrinsic part of the history of Château Maucoil.

The 45 hectares of vines in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation have been organic agriculture since 2011. Château Maucoil uses ancient methods such as furrowing, forming mounds and ploughing to tend the vineyard.

Originally from Bordeaux, the Lavau family who now own Château Maucoil, have been involved with winemaking for generations, and have had vineyards ranging from Bordeaux to Tunisia. In 1964 they were seduced by the richness and quality of the Provencal soil and settled down to make wine in the Rhone Valley.

Châteauneuf-du-Pape is a historic village between the towns of Orange and Avignon, in France's southern Rhône Valley. It is famous for powerful, full-bodied red wines made predominantly from the classic southern Rhône grape trio: Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre. These three varieties are behind the vast majority of the appellation's red wines, although a total of eighteen are approved for use – a mix of red and white grape varieties.

Southern Rhone White Blend is a blanket term used to describe the various combinations of white wine grapes used in the southern half of the Rhone Valley. The principal varieties involved in a white wine from the southern Rhone are any combination of Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne, Viognier, Ugni Blanc, Clairette, Bourboulenc and Picpoul.