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Deep and dark, with intense red and black berries, cassis, black cherry and raspberry, framed by peppery garrigue, incense, baking spice and a hint of lavender. Rich and powerful yet elegant, with silky tannins and a long, velvety, salted-licorice finish.
Available in store
Close60% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 8% Mourvèdre, 2% Counoise and Muscardin
Food pairings: Grilled red meats or red meats in sauce, game in season such as a wild boar daube, roast leg of lamb in an herb crust, and a board of aged cheeses.
Scores:
Winemaking: The grapes were picked by hand and sorted, then fermented in conical wooden vats with a maceration of around four weeks. The wine was aged for 24 months in a mix of foudres, demi-muids and barrels as well as concrete tanks, with only a modest share of new oak. In 2019 a dry spring was followed by a moderate summer with three distinct heat spikes, and the harvest came at the normal time in mid-September, giving ripe, concentrated grapes with excellent natural acidity.
Vineyards and terroir: The Grand Vin draws on old vines in three of the estate's vineyards. Half of the blend comes from La Crau, the famous plateau covered in galets roulés, the large rounded river stones left by the ancient Rhône, which gives the wine its intense structure; Nalys holds the highest part of the plateau, with slightly cooler temperatures and ideal drainage. The Nalys vineyard around the château, on red Comtat sandstone and safres (sandy marine sediments), brings supple, silky fruit and freshness, while Bois Sénéchal, on smaller stones and sandier soils next to La Crau and the source of the estate's best Mourvèdre, completes the blend. All thirteen permitted Châteauneuf-du-Pape grape varieties are planted at Nalys, and the vineyards are being converted to organic farming.
Family and history: Already recorded in the land registers at the end of the 16th century, Château de Nalys is one of the oldest estates in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. It takes its name from Jacques Nalis, farmer-general of the Archbishopric of Avignon, who was entrusted with a farmhouse surrounded by fields and vines here in 1633, and whose family made wine on the spot until the French Revolution. A Châteauneuf family then ran the estate for seven generations, the most famous being Doctor Philippe Dufays, who doubled its size and took its wines abroad. In July 2017 the estate was bought by the Guigal family of Ampuis, who have made Châteauneuf-du-Pape since Étienne Guigal founded the house in 1946; for Marcel and Philippe Guigal, son and grandson of the founder, Nalys fulfilled a dream of three generations.
In the pictures: Philippe and Marcel Guigal in the family cellar in Ampuis; the Château de Nalys estate buildings among the vines (photos courtesy of E. Guigal / Vintus); and the La Crau vineyard of Château de Nalys at dusk (photo © Stéphane Chalaye Photographie, courtesy of Château de Nalys).
