Famille Isabel Ferrando (Domaine Saint-Préfert) - Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2022 (750ml)
Price: $139.99
Wine Spectator Top 10 Wine for 2025 (# 10)
| Producer | Famille Isabel Ferrando (Domaine Saint-Préfert) |
| Country | France |
| Region | Rhône Valley |
| Varietal | Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Cinsault |
| Vintage | 2022 |
| Sku | 205252 |
| Size | 750ml |
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Famille Isabel Ferrando (Domaine Saint-Préfert) Description
Isabel Ferrando’s reputation for outstanding wines has grown every vintage since her first release in 2003. She launched Domaine Saint-Préfert with 13.2 hectares, purchased from the Serre family, one of the first to estate-bottle in the appellation in the 1930’s. This is the heart of the winery, a single parcel called Les Serres, south of the village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. It’s one of the hottest areas in the appellation, but Ferrando manages to coax ethereal wines from this site. Under the Saint Prefert name, she had bottled three wines from Les Serres, “Giraud”, “Auguste Favier” and a classic Chateauneuf-du-Pape. The next year she purchased vines in the north of the appellation and started making the 100% Grenache cuvée Colombis, primarily from the lieux-dit of Colombis, with sandy soil.
After studying her parcels for more than 15 years Ferrando started a new chapter with the release of the 2020 vintage. She decided to lean into the tradition of blending in Chateauneuf-du-Pape, making a single wine from Les Serres, and it’s now the flagship of the estate. She continues to make “Colombis” as well as her Cotes-du-Rhone, and two white Chateauneuf-du-Papes, including the very limited Vieilles Clairettes in magnum. Now, all of Ferrando’s wines are bottled under the name Famille Isabel Ferrando. In 2023, Isabel’s daughter, Guillemette joined the family winery.
Ferrando has been courageous from the start. Chateauneuf-du-Pape is a small town and even though she grew up in the south, about thirty minutes away, she was still viewed as an outsider. Henri Bonneau took her under his wing as her mentor and encouraged her to make wines in her own style. Over the years, she has made changes, some big, some small but as Jeb Dunnuck noted after tasting the new wines, “…one thing that remains constant is the incredible quality that continues to emerge from this talented winemaker.” These are truly unique expressions of Chateauneuf-du-Pape and it’s fair to say Isabel Ferrando is at the top of her game.
The Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge " Famille Isabel Ferrando " is produced on different parts of the Saint Prefert terroirs, each of which brings its own complexity to this great wine. Four main grape varieties come together in this wine, Grenache for Provençal sensuality, Syrah for a firm and straight texture, Mourvèdre for length on the palate and great cellaring capacity, and Cinsault for the evanescence, finesse, flower and delicacy of garden roses.
This grand vin de cru is the culmination of our three historic cuvées Classique, Réserve Auguste Favier and Collection Charles Giraud, from which we have selected the most beautiful locations and grape varieties for a great Châteauneuf-du-Pape blend.
This Châteauneuf du Pape "Famille Isabel Ferrando" is complex, long and very balanced. With the 2020 vintage, it inaugurates the first chapter in the new history of blending the sunny terroirs of our vineyards, soils of pebbles, blue clay, gravel and sand.
Tasting Note: Complex, long, with a smooth, fleshy mouthfeel, characterised above all by an abundance of black fruits, a sensation of strawberries and figs mixed together, and a silky, velvety texture. The attack is firm, the mid-palate tense and chiselled, and the finish sustained by a noble bitterness.
Wine Spectator: 94 Points
Isabel Ferrando has drawn attention since her debut 2003 vintage. Despite being a newcomer to the region, leaving a career in finance to learn winemaking, she has become a leading face of Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s modern era. Fans know her wines under the Domaine St.-Préfert label, but in 2020 she began a new chapter, changing the name to Famille Isabel Ferrando. Joined by daughter Guillemette, she returned to the Châteauneuf tradition of blending her vineyard parcels into a single cuvée. Sourced from Ferrando’s original holdings in the Les Serres lieu-dit planted to Grenache, Cinsault and Mourvèdre in the hottest, driest part of the appellation, it’s a wine of elegance and freshness.
Supple and mouthfilling, with silky tannins upholding cherry, plum and pretty lavender notes. Grilled garrigue plays out on the finish, which shows sneaky length and elegance. Seductive in feel, with impressive energy, too, for a balanced, harmonious impression. Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah and Mourvèdre.
Wine Advocate: 94 Points
Less exuberant than the F601, the 2022 Chateauneuf du Pape from Famille Isabel Ferrando is a blend of 60% Grenache Noir, 16% Mourvèdre, 16% Cinsault and 8% Syrah. It exhales a complex, shy bouquet of dark berries, spices, licorice, violet and dark cherries. Medium-bodied, fleshy and round with a textured mid-palate, it's enrobing and suave with structured tannins that segue into a long, penetrating and racy finish with lots of vertical energy.
It matured for 18 months in a combination of foudres (34%), concrete tank (33%) and terracotta jars (33%).
Vinous: 94 Points
The inviting 2022 Châteauneuf-du-Pape is at eye level with the gorgeous 2020. Showcasing ripe forest strawberry, black cherry, licorice, crushed violet and licorice, the 2022 is simply alluring. Ripe and polished tannins provide good structure and lay a solid foundation for extended bottle-aging.
This year's blend is 65% Grenache, 15% Cinsault, 12% Mourvèdre and 8% Syrah.
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