The craft of making and drinking wine is undoubtedly an integral aspect of our way of life as humans, having existed since the dawn of civilisation. The Mont-Redon estate in Rhone Valley’s distinguished Chateauneuf du Pape region is one of those winemakers with a history rooted in antiquity. As the largest and one of the oldest wine producers in the Chateauneuf du Pape region, Chateau Mont-Redon is one estate you definitely should pay attention to as you venture into the world of Cotes du Rhone wines.

The Distinct Terroir of the Cotes du Rhone Region

Cotes du Rhone is a key winemaking region spanning over the Rhone Valley in the South of France, abundant in Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre grapes (often also referred to as “GSM”, for short). This is known for several key features that help to impart a distinct quality to its wines – the warm Mediterranean climate, its vineyards that are cooled and dried by strong Mistral winds from the South, and garrigue attributed to the agricultural presence of other herbaceous plants such as rosemary, lavender and thyme.

The warm Mediterranean climate, coupled with dry and chilly winds helps to cultivate wines with a rich and bright profile. Southern Rhone wines also tend to have a unique herbaceous and smoky note, arising from the garrigue brought about by the growth of aromatic herbs and plants throughout the region.

The Chateauneuf du Pape region in Cotes du Rhone (Image Source: Winekeller)

One of the most famous regions within Cotes du Rhone is the Chateauneuf du Pape region, which has over 300 winemakers and began flourishing after Pope Clement V took a keen interest in producing wine in this region in the 1300s, giving it its name, which loosely translates to “The Pope’s new castle”. Today, Chateauneuf du Pape has become somewhat of an institution of its own, being recognized as the first Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) wine in France, while the region continues to thrive and produce high quality wines that are ubiquitous among vinophiles and casual wine enjoyers alike. 

An Estate Rich in Antiquity – Chateau Mont-Redon

The Mont-Redon Estate (Image Source: Provence Guide)

As we venture into the Chateauneuf du Pape region, we ought to pay a visit to one of its oldest and largest vineyards, Chateau Mont-Redon. The Mont-Redon area has undoubtedly seen its fair share of winemaking dating back to the ancient Romans over 2,000 years ago.  Originally known as Mourredon, the Mont-Redon area was acquired by Henri Plantin in 1923, who developed the region into the modern wine estate that it is today. Plantin himself was an important local figure and was instrumental to creating the Chateauneuf du Pape appellation. What started originally as just a mere 2.5 hectares has grown spectacularly under successive generations. The Chateau Mont-Redon estate is currently spread over a whopping 100 hectares of vineyards and is run by Henri Plantin’s descendants – the Abeille and Fabre families.

The Vineyards of Chateau Mont-Redon (Image Source: Chateau Mont-Redon)

Chateau Mont-Redon boasts three distinctive terroirs across its vineyards. Pebbles of the plateau that sit at a high elevation, the compact sand of its safres, and its urgonian limestone soils. A substantial majority of the estate’s vineyards are grown on diluvium alpin soil, at a high elevation of above 500 feet, giving it plenty of exposure to the strong Mistral winds. Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre grapes produced out of this terroir tend to produce wines that are concentrated, intense, and high in tannins.

The estate's 100 hectares of vines are planted with 80% red wine grapes and 20% white wine grapes, with an average age of 45 years old, although vines are continuously replanted. As is CdP tradition, all 13 permissible grape varieties of the appellation are planted at Mont Redon.

Chateau Mont-Redon's distinct terroirs (Image Source: Chateau Mont-Redon)

The Mont-Redon estate prides itself on taking great care to cultivate and harvest their vines, paying respect to its vines and the region’s historic terroir. Chateau Mont-Redon is non-interventionist in its approach to the ageing of its wines in the cellar, opting for the grape’s natural expression of the estate to come through.

Typically grapes are harvested one variety at a time, beginning with Syrah, and then Grenache and then Mourvedre. In the cellar, grapes are 100% destemmed and co-fermented, with vinification taking place in large, stainless steel vat. The resulting wine is aged in a combination of concrete vats, old oak barrels and 20% new French oak barrels for 12 months before bottling.

Let's give the Chateau Mont-Redon Cotes du Rhone Reserve 2022 a go!

Wine Review: Chateau Mont-Redon Cotes du Rhone Reserve 2022

This is a Cotes du Rhone Reserve from the estate, which comes from its “Reserve Mont-Redon” located in the heart of Chateauneuf du Pape. This Chateau Mont-Redon Cotes du Rhone Reserve 2022 is made from 60% Syrah, 35% Grenache and 5% of other grape varietals, aged in Mont-Redon’s vat cellars for 8 to 10 months after fermentation, and has the potential to be aged for another four to five years.

With that said, let’s give this a go!

Tasting Notes

Colour: Dark Ruby

Aroma: It starts off rather fresh and earthy, there’s freshly toiled soil, and with a good richness, there’s also mix of raspberries, blackberries and cassis, giving it a multi-layered bouquet of berries from bright to darker. Also some salinity to it, some barnyard funk. It’s fruit dominated, but with streaks of briny salinity, and a fresh earthiness. It leans brighter overall.

Taste: Really good richness, the salinity hits, accompanied by a richness of bramble, raspberry and blackberry jams, scoops of bright freshly toiled soil. It is velvety, plush and silky in texture, it leans sweeter with a rounded body, with also some savouriness. Towards the back there’s even a subtle herbaceousness of thyme. There’s a softness of the tannins, yet has a firm structure.

Finish: More spiced and earthy with cloves and tobacco here, moving on to blackberries, raspberries and cassis. It’s abit more spicy here, with a very delicate, soft and plush finish.

My Thoughts

Incredibly enjoyable blend of Chateauneuf-du-Pape (CdP) and broader Burgundian flavour profiles, where there’s a mix of the CdP touches of spiced and herbaceous characters of cloves and thyme, along with the richness to go with it, and then the more Burgundian side of it with the salinity and brighter berries. It’s well-integrated to create a very nice balance of the characteristically darker and richer CdP marks as well as the brighter and lighter Burgundian signature.

That’s all created a really nice complexity to it, taking the best of both worlds, making it cohesive, rich and rounded, really approachable, and works as a real crowdpleaser! Really love this fully stacked and complete wine that spans the flavour spectrum!

Till next time, happy sipping!

@ChopstickPride