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Château La Nerthe Cuvée des Cadettes Châteauneuf-du-Pape 1996
RedFrance1996
By Daniel Min · Tasted 2022-10-29 · Published 2026-09-30 · Updated 2026-09-30
At a glance
In one line
5.0/5 — higher than Vivino's 4.3 average · world avg price US$660 · An old Châteauneuf-du-Pape estate with records dating to 1560.
Wine-Searcher aggregate of 3 critic reviews: 86. Vivino lists unattributed critic scores of 87 (1997) and 89 (1999).
Market note: Wine-Searcher's last average for the 1996 is from April 2024: US$660 / 750ml (ex-tax). No 1996 sellers appeared in Sep 2026. Nearby vintages: a 1995 single bottle at US$90.14 (Switzerland, tax incl.), 1988 and 1989 magnums at US$80–100 per 750ml, and in-bond cases of 2013–2020 at US$62.95–99.95 per 750ml — so the 1996 average may be an outlier from very few sales.
Father's note — Daniel Min
Original author of the notes“올드 빈티지 중 뛰어난 컨디션과 밸런스로 스파이시 허브 숲 방향으로 완벽함을 그려낸 아름다운 와인 좋은 생산자 부르고뉴, 보르도 1등급 올드 빈티지와 같은 급의 와인을 찾는데 이국적인 것을 맛보고 싶으시다면 적극 추천, 가격도 너무 좋고 96빈티지 지금이 딱 맛있다.”
Show original
“올빈 중 뛰어난 컨디션과 밸런스로 스파이시 허브 숲 방향으로 완벽함을 그려낸 아름다운 와인 좋은생산자 부르고뉴, 보르도 1등급 올빈과 같은급의 와인을 찾는데 이국적인것을 맛보고 싶으시다면 적극추천, 가격도 넘 좋고 96빈 지금이 딱맛있다.”
In the scent column: 'thyme, rosemary, pepper, dried plum, forest floor — fingertips first.' Tomorrow morning I should water Mum's pots.
Tuesday. As I sat down, Master Seo held out a dry sprig of herb before any glass. Thyme. 'Rub it between your fingers, smell, and then the glass.' A bitter-green scent rose from my fingertips.
In the glass, too, the thyme came first. Then pepper, dried plum, old leather, forest floor after the rain has stopped. The moment my fingertips and the glass gave off the same smell, the veranda in October, when I was twenty-four, opened.
Twenty-four, a Saturday night at the end of October. Dad came home late from a dinner gathering. As soon as he'd taken off his shoes he walked through the living room out to the veranda and crouched in front of Mum's pots of herbs. He rubbed rosemary leaves between his fingertips, then thyme, and smelled his own fingers for a long time. When I went out to ask what he was doing, he held those fingertips under my nose. I said it smelled of herbs and forest, and he added, 'And a bit of pepper.' There'd been a bottle tonight that smelled like this, he said — a bottle two years older than me. I wasn't at that gathering. I never saw the bottle. I don't know its name.
In the notebook, that date had seven lines. Six had only stars; only the last was long. 'A beautiful wine that draws perfection toward spice, herbs and forest.' The same class as old bottles from a good Burgundy producer or a Bordeaux first growth, and if you want to taste something exotic, highly recommended. Just right to drink now. Five stars. The bottle was Château La Nerthe Cuvée des Cadettes. I stuck on the wine-name Post-it. Probably Dad went to the veranda first because he wanted to find the closest thing in the house before that smell faded.
Finishing the glass, I asked whether this bottle had come from the fields too. Instead of an answer, Master Seo told me briefly about the fields.
After closing, page forty-nine of the new notebook. In the scent column: 'thyme, rosemary, pepper, dried plum, forest floor — fingertips first.' Tomorrow morning I should water Mum's pots.
What this wine is
Château La Nerthe's name first appears in a document of 1560. The cellar dates from the fifteenth century; the present house was built in 1736 (The Wine Cellar Insider, Please the Palate). From around 1784 the estate began bottling some of its own wine, and it is known as one of the first to send Rhône wine abroad.
In 1870, with phylloxera ruining the vineyards, the Tulle de Villefranche family, long its keepers, sold the estate to the family of Joseph Ducos. In 1941 it went at auction to the Leclerc and Motte families, and after the war it was for a while called 'La Nerte', without the 'h'. In 1985–1986 the run-down estate was bought and restored by the Richard family together with the négociants David et Foillard, and its original name came back. In 1998 it was certified organic.
Cuvée des Cadettes, made since the late nineteenth century, is the estate's oldest cuvée. It began as 100% Grenache and became a blend in the early 1900s. These days it is roughly a third each of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre, with a high proportion of new oak (The Wine Cellar Insider). Its vineyard is a little over eight hectares, with vines said to be 85 to 100 years old (Please the Palate). I couldn't confirm the origin of the name 'Cadettes'.
What the world says
The three critic reviews on Wine-Searcher aggregate to 86. Vivino lists unattributed critic scores of 87 (1997) and 89 (1999) — both given when the bottle was young.
On Vivino the 1996 averages 4.3 from 29 ratings: eight fives, 16 fours and five threes. The label as a whole averages 4.4 from 4,280. The suggested drinking window, 2006–2016, ended six years before I drank it.
"Incredible character, wish we had time to let this breathe for an hour or two." — Vivino review, Aug 2022, 4.3 stars
The keywords are across all vintages of the label: plum (56), blackberry and black cherry; oak (76), vanilla and tobacco; leather (57), earth and smoke; pepper (46), licorice and cinnamon. Structure shows intensity 4.7, acidity 3.1, tannin 2.9 and sweetness 1.8 — powerful, with soft tannins, in the southern Rhône manner.
Wine-Searcher's last average is US$660 / 750ml (ex-tax, Apr 2024). In September 2026 there were no 1996 sellers, and a single 1995 was US$90.14 in Switzerland. The gap with other vintages is large enough that this average may come from very few sales.
How I drank it
October 29, 2022, 5 stars. I logged seven lines that day: Peller Estates Vidal Icewine 2018 (4, twice), Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 (3), Hartford Court Fog Dance Chardonnay 2017 (3), Louis Latour Chablis Premier Cru 2020 (3.5), Piper-Heidsieck Rosé Sauvage (4), and this one. It's the only one I wrote a note for.
Among old vintages, I wrote, its condition and balance stood out — a wine that drew perfection toward spice, herbs and forest. If you're looking for something on the level of old bottles from a good Burgundy producer or a Bordeaux first growth but want an exotic taste, I recommended it strongly, adding that the '96 was just right to drink now.
Community 4.3, critics 86, me 5. On this bottle mine is the highest. The critic scores were given when it was two or three years old; I met it at twenty-six. A bottle six years past its suggested window shone brightest at that table that day.
Vivino community data
1996 vintage rating distribution (29 ratings, average 4.3)
| 5★ | 8 (28%) | |
| 4★ | 16 (55%) | |
| 3★ | 5 (17%) | |
| 2★ | 0 (0%) | |
| 1★ | 0 (0%) |
Most-mentioned aromas
| Family | Mentions | Top keywords |
|---|---|---|
| Black fruit | 210 | plum 56 · blackberry 38 · black cherry 22 · dark fruit 16 · black fruit 15 |
| Oak | 197 | oak 76 · vanilla 38 · tobacco 24 · chocolate 14 · cedar 12 |
| Earth & leather | 163 | leather 57 · earthy 37 · smoke 25 · mushroom 9 · minerals 6 |
| Spice | 114 | pepper 46 · licorice 16 · cinnamon 13 · mint 5 · savory 5 |
| Red fruit | 94 | cherry 30 · red fruit 18 · raspberry 13 · strawberry 12 · red cherry 9 |
Structure: Acidity 3.1/5 · Intensity 4.7/5 · Tannin 2.9/5 · Sweetness 1.8/5
Average by vintage (all vintages: 4280 ratings, average 4.4)
| Vintage | Average | Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 4.3 | 41 |
| 1995 | 4.6 | 60 |
| 1997 | 4.7 | 36 |
| 1998 | 4.5 | 132 |
| 1999 | 4.5 | 68 |
| 2000 | 4.3 | 80 |
| 2001 | 4.3 | 110 |
| 2003 | 4.3 | 118 |
| 2004 | 4.4 | 143 |
| 2005 | 4.6 | 303 |
| 2006 | 4.3 | 118 |
| 2007 | 4.4 | 48 |
| 2008 | 4.3 | 232 |
| 2009 | 4.4 | 392 |
| 2010 | 4.4 | 287 |
| 2011 | 4.1 | 31 |
| 2012 | 4.5 | 158 |
| 2013 | 4.4 | 209 |
| 2015 | 4.4 | 400 |
| 2016 | 4.5 | 419 |
| 2017 | 4.4 | 224 |
| 2018 | 4.4 | 111 |
| 2019 | 4.4 | 147 |
| 2020 | 4.4 | 82 |
| 2022 | 4.3 | 61 |
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→Frequently asked questions
What kind of wine is Château La Nerthe Cuvée des Cadettes?
The flagship red of Château La Nerthe, a Châteauneuf-du-Pape estate with records from 1560, made since the late nineteenth century. Today it blends Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre in near-equal parts. The 1996 averages 4.3 on Vivino (29 ratings) with a Wine-Searcher critic aggregate of 86.
How much does it cost?
Wine-Searcher's last average for the 1996 is US$660 per 750ml (ex-tax, Apr 2024). No 1996 sellers appeared in Sep 2026; a single 1995 was US$90.14 in Switzerland (tax incl.).
What food goes with it?
The Vivino community suggests lamb, pork and poultry.
Why do Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines smell of herbs?
The southern Rhône countryside is full of garrigue, scrub where wild thyme, rosemary and lavender grow, and many people find that scent in the region's reds. This bottle went into my note as 'spice, herbs, forest'. I couldn't confirm any scientific evidence that the herbal notes come directly from the scrub, though.
Links & sources
View on Vivino · Prices on Wine-Searcher
- Vivino — wine page and community data
- The Wine Cellar Insider — Château La Nerthe
- Please the Palate — History in a Glass with Château La Nerthe
- Wine-Searcher — 1996 Chateau La Nerthe Cuvee des Cadettes
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