This wine tasting was amazing! Our host was so knowledgable and her English was so easy to…read moreunderstand. The best wine tasting we had in Chateauneuf du pape. Because they do not represent a single producer, they are able to find the best products and really focus on great wine. And the ambiance in the cave was incredible. If you are in Chateauneuf du pape for wine tasting, you must go!

We had an incredible wine tasting at Les Caves St. Charles on a recent visit to…read moreChâteauneuf-du-Pape. The area has such a rich wine growing history with so many different wine styles to sample. We couldn't believe that Les Caves offers FREE 60-minute wine tastings, and scheduling could not be easier on Les Caves' user-friendly website. We arrived and were greeted by a lovely, knowledgeable woman who enthusiastically guided us downstairs into an intimate, private tasting room. Les Caves has several private tasting rooms, each below ground and designed as mini caves. For an hour our host guided us through six different local wines, each distinctive in style. At the conclusion, we were free to exit Les Caves owing nothing. Of course, we bought a mixed case of fantastic wine that can't be purchased in the U.S. Les Caves was a highlight of our visit to this legendary wine growing region.

Fantastic place to stop and sip on Châteauneuf du Pape! Make sure to grab a fromage and…read morecharcuterie plate - one of the best I have ever tasted. Great wine and simply a great place to stop and enjoy the village! Oh, and Pierre (shop owner) is one of the most friendly shop owners you will ever meet!

This place had great wines as well as a great winery. I saw so much history and passion as I was…read morewalking through the winery. The wine tasting was great and so was everyone that was helping us. It's great to have people that treat you like friends rather than customers. Great experience!

Was truly looking forward to visiting the winery is one of my favorites. Hostess was ridiculous…read morewanted to charge us 20 euros a piece unless we brought a bottle. Then preceded to send us down to the wine cellar without escort. Are wine tasting, she blew though it and rushed us out the door. Big fail.

This was recommended to me by a good friend who knows his wine. Said Pegau is his favorite and I…read morehad to go there if I'm Châteauneuf-du-Pape. I went. I'm a believer. Wow! Blew me away. Really. That doesn't happen often. We drove up what looked like a residential street following our GPS and pulled in. No one was around, tasting room not open. But In a moment, someone came out, opened up and let us in when Sebastian came and introduced himself. He apologized for his English, which got better the longer we stayed. He was fabulous!! He poured us some tastings including a vertical of 3 years to let us taste the effects of the yearly harvest variations. We drank some really good wine. Fabulous wine. Since we were the only ones there, he took us into cellar and gave us full exposure. Loved it! Always loved Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines but now I have a new favorite. Can't wait to pop the bottles I bought!

This was one of our favorite tasting rooms during our visit and we were so surprised by how…read morereasonable the prices were (granted the Euro is quite weak vs. the dollar right now). The gentleman that helped us was pretty friendly and didn't mind speaking English to us. We got to taste a bunch of the wines. Tasting was free as is with most of the wineries (I guess Cali is an exception?). We really thought the wines at Pegau really suited our palate. Another tasting room described their wines as more "animalistic"? Have no idea what that means but I guess we love animalistic wines?! We didn't end up buying a wine from Chateauneuf du Pape but did buy their value priced wine from the Cote du Rhone for like 10 Euros. Here's a description of the 2013 wine from a website i found: NV Domaine du Pégau "Plan Pégau" Red Blend, France Inky garnet in color, this wine smells of garrigue, violets, and cassis. In the mouth thick powdery tannins wrap firmly around flavors of barnyard, cassis, licorice, black cherry and loamy earth. The barnyard flavor lingers in the finish with a hint of leather. An odd blend of Grenache, Syrah, Merlot, Alicante, Aramon Noir, and Carignan. 13.5% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. http://www.vinography.com/archives/2014/11/the_dark_queen_of_chteauneuf-d.html

Great assistance in tasting their wines, good story telling by the lady waiting on us, and great…read morewines. I've been drinking Chateauneuf du Pape's on special occasions for 40 years, so it was great to visit the region. Fabulous area to drive through too.

From the owner: Propriété viticoleread more

Came here with our wine guide. It's got the oldest wine cave in the region. It's interesting to see…read morehow wine was made using the storage here. There were a couple of small windows you can peek into and see the large vats of wine fermenting. The tasting room was just remodeled last year. It's very modern, but I feel like it loses some of its old world charm because of how modern it is. Guess the times have to keep moving on. When you're here, be sure to take a look at the chateau where the winemaker lives. It's exactly what you'd imagine a winery chateau would look like. It also has some terrific views of the grounds.

We thought the proprietor was charming, and their 2011 CDP was outstanding. Loved having the…read moreopportunity to speak with a knowledgeable wine maker and taste the differences between the same wine but of various vintages.

The owner was very friendly, patient and accommodating unlike the previous reviewers experience. He…read morehelped us select a bottle of Domaine Trintignant Chateauneuf-du-Pape and it was the best wine we tasted in France.

My family had an absolutely amazing tour/tasting today with Julie!!!!! She was extraordinaire. She…read morehad not only knowledge about the wines but a sincere infectious passion about the wine and region. I would HIGHLY recommend going to taste at Chateau de la Gardine! Thank you Julie for a perfect memory and experience to last a lifetime!

We had a tour and tasting at this Château, and it was the highlight of our visit to…read moreChâteauneuf-du-Pape. We began on the front porch of the Château, which overlooks the Rhone valley. To the left we could see the Pope's Château that gave the region its name. Straight ahead, the winding Rhone river glimmered in the morning sun. And to the right we saw another castle, Chateau de Lercs, the former summer home of the pope before he moved up the mountain. Movad grapes grow in the limestone hills surrounding the Château. Just beside the house, the soil is sandy with some rock, so it's planted with syrah. White grapes flourish in the more sandy soil. This family has 40 hectares in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, only red and white grapes. The Château de la Gardine Home and winery is halfway between the two Pope's castles, and is called Gardine because it was the original guard tower the Romans built to guard the village. The house was built in the 18th century around the tower, and was owned my the abbey of Avignon until Gaston Brunelle bought the home and vineyard after World War II. Gaston was an ambitious and knowledgeable marketer, and in 1950 he became the first Châteauneuf de Pape winemaker to export to the United States. Today, Canada and Europe is big for Chateau de la Gardine, and half of their sales are to high end restaurants in France.Their total production is 180,000 bottles from their 54 hectares of vineyards. This is a relatively Low production per hectare because the vines are an average of 50 years old. As lovers of fine wines know, this results in less fruit, more concentration, and a bold and complex wine when the vinyeron is skilled. On the day we visited, the Chateau was bottling wine. Their own special bottle shape is not perfectly round, so it needs special handling. The chateau's bottling machine handles only 3000 bottles per hour, which is slower than most. Chateau de la Gardine Bottles were handmade until the 1950s. Today they are made with a mold, and they change it every 5 years to prevent forgeries. First we tasted the Château St roche cotes du Rhone. This rich table wine has a cherry flavor with sour finish. Guillame shared with us that he is playing a part in growing a new appellation, Rasteau, which was classified as a cru in 2010. The Rasteau is from a higher area on the mountains and is fermented in only concrete tanks with 75 percent grenache and 25 percent Syrah. It has a lot of fruit expression and a fresh, spicy flavor with minerality on the finisher. Named after the first Brunel owner of the Chateau de la Gardine, Gaston Philippe their highest end wine. It is aged in large wood vats then in new oak. We absolutely loved this wine and brought home several bottles to share with friends and family. This chateau is just beautiful and I highly recommend a visit!

I loved each winery that I visited in Chateauneuf du Pape but Clos du Mont Olivet was probably my…read morefavorite. We did not get a tour of the winery because the place was busy with harvesting but still had a wonderful time. David was such a great host and provided us with great stories about the generation of wine making in his family. David was friendly and very hilarious. The red wines were very intense, complex, and probably one of the better reds that I've tasted in the area. This is a must visit when you're wine tasting.

Some excellent wines here. We liked almost everything we tasted -- which is a very rare occurrence…read more In fact, we liked it so much that we even bought a bottle without tasting it - Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvee Le Secret des Sabon. That's a lot of faith given that the bottles are over 100€ depending on the vintage. There's not much to see at the winery. We did tour through to see their barrels, but it was more educational than a sightseeing visit. And really, once you've seen one barrel you've seen them all.

Loved the wines here…read more.. So much so we bought 3 bottles, including one of their high end Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvee Le Secret des Sabon without tasting it. I'm glad that we can buy some of these in the states too. Because I know I'll be wanting to restock at some point!