Rhône 2014 – Châteauneuf-du-Pape whites

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See Rhône 2014 – a guide for links to all our articles and reviews. 

Although white wines were the stars of the northern Rhône in 2014, I don’t feel this vintage was as good for southern Rhône whites, which so often struggle to offer genuine refreshment, so heavy can they be. 

I felt there were too many duff 2014 whites among the 81 white Châteauneufs I tasted blind in the village itself. Too many had obvious faults – there were often flabby, and sometimes simply had no fruit. 

Far too many of these wines were simply crisp (presumably thanks to...