2008 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Domaine Clos du Mont Olivet
Dry, Red, Still
France
Improving/Ready 2012 – 2017 
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Tasting Note
Bright red. Lively red berry aromas are complemented by notes of garrigue and white pepper. Spicy and precise, offering sweet raspberry and redcurrant flavors that show surprising depth and sneaky power. Closes on a sweet note, with lingering florality and very fine tannins. Drinking beautifully now, this wine will keep for another 5-6 years.
Region Details
A confident wind is blowing through the Rhône valley; Syrah, Grenache and Viognier are the grapes of the moment, and the Mediterranean diet has been adopted around the world as the mark of a good life, further energising sales of Rhône wines. From Côte-Rôtie through to the Châteauneuf-du-Pape, there is a sense of optimism and forward motion.
While united by the presence of the river, the two halves of the region couldn’t be more different. The northern Rhône consists of a narrow band of vineyards that follow the course of the river as it heads south. The vineyards are dramatically steep in parts, and the climate is continental, similar to that of the southern extremes of Burgundy. In terms of the wines produced, Syrah reigns supreme as the only red varietal, while white wines invariably consist of a proportion of both Marsanne and Roussanne.
Other than the river, the south shares very little with the north. Flatter and much more Mediterranean in climate, it is Grenache that features most heavily for red wine production, supported mainly by Syrah and Mourvèdre. White wine production is equally as varied; Grenache Blanc, Bourbelenc, Clairette, Viognier, Marsanne and Roussanne are all found here. With such a wide base of varieties, styles and wines can and do vary dramatically.
Vintage Notes
2008 - Rhône
After a run of outstanding vintages in the Southern Rhône, 2008 was a much more challenging growing season for the producers. Cool and rainy weather dogged the season, reducing the crop size and making ripening difficult.
It was the mistral (the strong north wind that blows down the Rhône valley) that saved the vintage, arriving at the end of August, bringing warmer weather and drying out the vineyards throughout September and into October. With grapes ripening slowly under these new conditions, vignerons waited anxiously for full maturity in their grapes.
"It was the year of the vigneron and patience," said Daniel Brunier, who owns both Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe and Domaine La Roquète in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, as well as Domaine Les Pallières in Gigondas. "In the vineyard we had to take risks and wait for the good ripening."
It was a gamble worth taking for some producers, particularly those who were able to capitalise on the health and maturity of the late-ripening Mourvédre. The balance between alcohol and acidity is very good, the degree of alcohol normal and the concentration in tannins are lower than the powerful 2007.
Yields are markedly lower around the region, as crop set and berry size were small and quality-conscious growers performed rigorous bunch and berry selections during harvest. Low volumes of wines were produced – at Clos des Papes just 17 hl/ha were produced, following strict selection and green harvest at the end of July.
Grape Variety
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