KYSELA PERE ET FILS, LTD.

"Big, juicy, bold and powerful. Really driving, chunky, mouthfilling fruit and tannin. It’s long, broad and expansive, a huge wine for those that enjoy massive Châteauneufs. It's all there though – the fruit, the ripeness, the smooth tannin, the acidity, the freshness. Will take time to come together then it will be very long lived. The most powerful Dame Voyageuse to date – don't expect an approachable second wine! - Matt WALLS"

 - Decanter Magazine (September 17th 2023, Part of Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2022: Report and top-scoring wines), 95 pts

"The 2021 Châteauneuf Du Pape La Dame Voyageuse is darker in color and slightly more Grenache-dominated, made up of 90% Grenache and the rest Syrah, Mourvedre, Vaccarese, and Counoise. Blackberries, violets, graphite, and peppery garrigue all define the bouquet. and it's medium to full-bodied, with beautiful balance, ripe, silky tannins, and a great finish."

- Jeb Dunnuck (November 2022), 90-93 pts

"This full-bodied wine has a decadent nose of black plum, red cherry, rhubarb, licorice, rose potpourri, cinnamon, clove and freshly turned earth. The palate is structured with concentrated black plum and black licorice up front, followed by a midpalate of warm baking spices, earth and a green peppercorn finish. Its velvety texture and ripe-fruit profile make this bottling easy to enjoy now. - Anna-Christina CABRALES"

 - Wine Enthusiast (December 2023, Best of Year issue), 94 pts

"A fragrant and spicy Chateauneuf that marries richness and structure with finesse and fascination. The fine tannins build beautifully at the self-confidently dry finish, where spicy and chalky elements mingle beautifully, with just a hint of milk chocolate neatly accenting this. A complex blend based on grenache. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification. Drink or hold."

- James Suckling (August 2022), 94 pts

"The Grenache-dominated 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape La Dame Voyageuse is another winner, and while this is billed as a forward, base cuvée, don't let that fool you – it's a brilliant Châteauneuf du Pape (that often represents an incredible value). A blend of 90% Grenache and small amounts of Syrah, Mourvedre, Vaccarese, and Counoise, its deeper ruby hue is followed by a beautiful array of black raspberry and mulled cherry fruits as well as Provençal garrigue, sandalwood, and spice. Medium to full-bodied, seamless, elegant, and perfectly balanced, it shows the charming, elegant, layered style of this vintage beautifully."

- Jeb Dunnuck (November 2022), 93 pts

"Starting with the 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape La Dame Voyageuse, which is always a more Grenache-dominated release, it offers a ruby/purple hue as well as a classy, perfumed Grenache nose of wild strawberries, cherries, dried flowers, and peppery garrigue. Playing in the medium to full-bodied, elegant style of the vintage, it has ripe yet present tannins, good purity, and outstanding length. The blend is 90% Grenache, 4% each of Syrah and Mourvèdre, and the balance Vaccarèse and Counoise. While this cuvée is billed as the entry level/second wine of the estate, it’s made in a very different style than the Reine des Bois and is well worth your time and money."

- Jeb Dunnuck (November 2021), 90-92 pts

"Moving to the 2019s from bottle, the Grenache-heavy 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape La Dame Voyageuse offers a beautiful array of both red and black fruits as well as classic Provençal notes of lavender, peppery garrigue, and flowers. Rich, medium to full-bodied, and beautifully textured on the palate, this is another terrific vintage for this cuvée, which remains an incredible value in the market today. It will drink nicely for 10-12 years if stored correctly."

- Jeb Dunnuck (November 2021), 95 pts

"An expressive version marked by linzer torte, raspberry coulis and plum pâte de fruit notes, with a licorice note lacing it all up through the finish, where flashes of apple wood, tar and red tea fill in nicely. This is for fans of the fruit-driven style. Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Counoise and Vaccarèse. Best from 2023 through 2036. - James MOLESWORTH"

- Wine Spectator Insider (December 15th 2021), 93 pts

"Vivid ruby. Spice-accented red berry preserve and cherry aromas are complemented by pungent floral and mineral nuances. Appealingly sweet and seamless in the mouth, offering sappy raspberry, cherry liqueur, licorice and baking spice flavors braced by a spine of juicy acidity. Finishes supple, broad and long, with lingering floral and spice notes and well-knit tannins that lend shape and gentle grip.- Josh Raynolds"

- Antonio Galloni's Vinous (October 2021), 93 pts

"Shimmering ruby. Expressive aromas of cherry and red berry preserves, succulent herbs and flowers and baking spices pick up a spicy nuance with air. Sappy and penetrating, offering bitter cherry, black raspberry and rosemary flavors that flesh out through the back half. Closes long, smooth and broad, with repeating florality and subtle tannins adding gentle grip. - Josh Raynolds"

- Antonio Galloni's Vinous (October 2021), 92 pts

"The more Grenache dominated cuvée from this great estate, the 2018 Châteauneuf Du Pape La Dame Voyageuse is always made in a more charming, forward style compared to the La Reine des Bois release. The 2018 is a blend of 90% Grenache, 4% each of Syrah and Mourvedre, and the balance Vaccarèse and Counoise, all raised in old barrels and stainless steel. Ripe strawberries, red currants, toasted spice, and garrigue notes emerge from this classy, frontend loaded, already impossible to resist 2018. With soft tannins, a fleshy mid-palate, and a great finish, it’s ideal for drinking over the coming decade."

- Jeb Dunnuck (October 2020), 92 pts

 "Languid streaks of black plum and black cherry preserves are accented by hints of mocha and cinnamon toast in this plush, pillowy red. A blend of 90% Grenache augmented by small amounts of Mourvèdre, Syrah, Counoise and Vaccarese, it's a plush, delicately muted wine feathered in soft, furry tannins and a flurry of dried herb and baking spice notes that linger on the finish. At peak now–2025. - ANNA LEE C. IIJIMA"

- Wine Enthusiast (November 2021), 91 pts

"Round and supple, the full-bodied 2018 Chateauneuf du Pape La Dame Voyageuse is a large-scaled ball of plum and blackberry fruit and savory nuances. Hints of mocha, black olive and licorice bring added interest to this soft, easygoing offering that should be consumed over the next 6-8 years."

- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (September 2020), 90 pts

"With it's pristine blackberry and boysenberry flavors and a juicy, freshly concentrated demeanor, the Grenache-dominant La Dame Voyageuse is more welcoming in youth than the producer's densely packed La Reine des Bois bottling. Etched by savory complexities of garrigue and walnut skins, and held upright by firm, velveteen tannins, it's a stunner in its own right that should drink beautifully well through 2030. - ANNA LEE C. IIJIMA"

 - Wine Enthusiast (February/March 2021), 95 pts

"More Grenache-dominated, the 2017 Châteauneuf Du Pape La Dame Voyageuse is billed as the early drinker from this estate. Nevertheless, the quality certainly doesn't lag the top cuvée by much. The 2017 checks in as a blend of 90% Grenache, 4% each of Syrah and Mourvèdre, and the balance a mix of permitted varieties, brought up largely in very old barrels. Its deep ruby/purple color gives way to an incredibly sexy, voluptuous wine that's loaded with notions of black raspberries, wild strawberries, ground herbs, pepper, and hints of chocolate. Broad, expansive, silky, and seamless on the palate, this brilliant wine has more upfront appeal than the more concentrated La Reine Des Bois, yet I wouldn't put it past this to age just as long."

- Jeb Dunnuck (August 16th 2019), 95 pts

Go to Mordoree Chateauneuf-du-Pape Rouge La Dame Voyageuse

"Medium-bodied, the soft, round, ripe and juicy red fruits are all over the place. It is hard to believe this is only a second wine! The wine is made from blending 90% Grenache, 4% Syrah, 4% Mourvedre, 1% Vaccarese and 1% Counoise. The wine will be enjoyable on release."

- The Wine Cellar Insider (January 30th 2020), 91 pts

"The new entry-level release from this estate is the 2016 Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Dame Voyageuse, a more Grenache-dominated blend of 90% Grenache, 4% each of Mourvèdre and Syrah, and the balance Counoise and Vaccarèse. Aged mostly in tank, with 15% in old barrels, it boasts a deep violet/purple color as well as a full-bodied, voluptuous style in its blueberry and cherry fruits, violets, damp earth, and spice-laced aromas and flavors. This cuvée is always more upfront and sexier compared to the more structured La Reine des Bois cuvée, and it’s already drinking brilliantly today. Nevertheless, it will keep for a good 10-15 years if you’re so inclined.

This estate has unquestionably landed on its feet after the passing of Christophe Delorme in 2015, and you’ll have to go back to 2001 to find wines at the same level as these 2016s."

- Jeb Dunnuck (August 2018, LE MILLÉSIME… The 2016s from the Southern Rhône - Part 1), 95 pts

Go to Mordoree Chateauneuf-du-Pape Rouge La Dame Voyageuse

"This 2016 'La Dame Voyageuse' is a simply sensational release in this vintage. It instantly beings to impress with its fantastic aromatic profile of blackberry, dark cherry and strawberries along with garrigue leather, bacon fat, black pepper and hints loam and tar. On the palate this displays a wonderful elegant character, with soft, polished tannins making for a gorgoeus mouthfeel. Layered and complex, this brilliant red goes on to impress with incredible purity, along with a gorgeous combination of earthy and meaty characteristics that continue through the long supple finish. While the 2016 is nothing short of outstanding now, it also shows incredible promise to become even more compelling as it evolves. - J. D'Angelo"
- International Wine Report (March 2019), 95 pts

Go to Mordoree Chateauneuf-du-Pape Rouge La Dame Voyageuse

"Brilliant ruby. Intense red fruit liqueur and floral pastille aromas pick up suggestions of licorice and smoky minerals in the glass. Sappy and concentrated yet lively as well, offering palate-caressing raspberry and cherry compote flavors that are given lift and cut by a core of juicy acidity. Shows a suave combination of richness and elegance and finishes very long and sweet; velvety tannins sneak in to add shape and grip. - Josh Raynolds"

- Antonio Galloni's Vinous (July 2018), 92 pts

Go to Mordoree Chateauneuf-du-Pape Rouge La Dame Voyageuse

"Savory smoked nut, spice and leather complexities juxtapose bright blackberry and cherry fruit in this luscious red. It's rounded and supple on the palate yet freshly composed—not at all brooding or hot. The finish is long and peppery, accentuated by firm, enveloping tannins. Sure to improve through 2030 and hold even further. - Anna Lee C. Iijima"

- Wine Enthusiast (July 1st 2018), 93 pts

Go to Mordoree Chateauneuf-du-Pape Rouge La Belle Voyageuse