Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2009 – whites

See our Guide to 2009 Rhône coverage.

This is the first of four tasting articles on the exceptionally ripe 2009 vintage in the Rhône Valley that we are planning to publish this week. To follow will be collections of reviews of red Châteauneufs, other wines from the southern Rhône and the very toothsome wines of the northern Rhône.

My overview of the vintage, concentrating on the southern Rhône, will be published on Saturday.

What was notable about these white Châteauneufs (which constitute only about 6% of all Châteauneuf produced) was that they tasted generally fresher than I was expecting...