Magnificent Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Until now, only the very beautiful Château Beaucastel produced in Courthézon by the Perrin family was included in our half-bottle catalogue. Today, VINAdemi is enriching its catalogue with AOC Châteauneuf-du-Pape with the introduction of the half-bottle of the great Domaine Guigal . On this occasion, we offer you a little escapade in the footsteps of this superb appellation full of history but yet so contemporary.
Wine of the Popes of Avignon
Geoffroy, Bishop of Avignon, owned a vineyard in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and took great pleasure in personally tending the vines. But it was the popes, Clement V and then especially John XXII, who really enabled the development of this vineyard from the 14th century onwards. John XXII had a majestic fortress built on the heights of the village which quickly became the summer residence of the popes. Thanks to John XXII, the wine produced in Châteauneuf-du-Pape earned its place at the prestigious table of the Palais des Papes and quickly obtained the status of “Vin du Pape”. The nectar was therefore tasted by the international personalities who came to Avignon and its reputation soon spread beyond national borders.
The bottle is preferred to the barrel
From the 13th century onwards, the vineyard developed considerably and the winegrowers of the region demonstrated a remarkable spirit of innovation. In fact, they decided to stand out by shipping in bottles and gradually abandoning the barrel. This was a first for the time and had a resounding effect on the reputation of the wines.
First AOC wine
At the beginning of the 20th century, to protect the wines of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the winegrowers decided to work towards strengthening the conditions for granting appellations of origin. Baron Le Roy de Boiseaumarié, a winegrower but also a lawyer, was asked to carry out this ambitious project. The Châteauneuf-du-Pape winegrowers' union was created on October 4, 1923. Under the presidency of Baron Le Roy, relatively restrictive production rules were issued and accepted by the winegrowers of the region. Thanks to this remarkable work, Châteauneuf-du-Pape became the first AOC wine in France on May 15, 1936, by decree signed by President Albert Lebrun (along with Arbois , Tavel , Cognac, Cassis and Monbazillac ) .
An emblematic bottle
The splendid productions of this AOC obviously deserved a showcase to match them. In 1937, the coat of arms bottle was created. The coat of arms symbolizes a papal tiara placed above the keys of Saint-Pierre and the inscription “Châteauneuf-du-Pape contrôlée” surrounds it in Gothic letters. This bottle with a very strong identity proudly bears the personality of the wines of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and contributes greatly to their notoriety.
An exceptional terroir
It is in the Vaucluse department, between Orange and Avignon, that the 3,200 hectares of the appellation are located. The vineyard extends over the five communes of Bédarrides, Courthézon, Orange, Sorgues and of course Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Leaning on its western flank against the Massif du Lampourdier, the AOC sits majestically in the heart of the Comtat Venaissin plain. The subsoil, marked by the tumultuous history of the Rhône, is composed mainly of red clay but also of limestone rocks to the west and sandy hillside soils to the east.
The vineyard is distinguished by the famous rolled pebbles which restore the heat stored during the day to the grape clusters and prevent the development of certain diseases by promoting the evaporation of water on contact with them. These pebbles thus contribute to the ideal ripening of the berries.
Located in the least watered sector of the Côtes du Rhône , the vineyard takes full advantage of its warm, dry and windy Mediterranean climate. The level of precipitation, particularly low in the sector, helps to limit vine diseases.
Traditionally, thirteen grape varieties can be used in the composition of the famous nectar: Grenache (black, white, gray), Syrah, Mourvèdre, Cinsault, Clairette (white, pink), Vaccarèse, Bourboulenc, Roussanne, Counoise, Muscardin, Picpoul (white, gray, black), Picardan and Terret Noir. Each of these grape varieties has its own characteristics and winemakers have plenty of time to select from this very extensive catalog to make their wines.
In concrete terms, Grenache is now the majority grape in the production of Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines, giving it power and aging potential, but in a constant concern for balance, winegrowers generally combine it with Syrah, Mourvèdre or Cinsault.
In order to guarantee a very high quality, the vines of this AOC are the object of all the attention. The constraints imposed and regulated are numerous and varied (harvesting by hand, sorting of berries, pruning, yield limited to 35 hl/ha, green harvesting, etc.). The vineyard also has a very low planting density of around 3000 to 3500 vines per hectare which leaves the necessary space for the vines trained in “goblet” form.
Respect for the environment
As we have already mentioned, the AOC specifications already impose significant constraints, but growing techniques increasingly take environmental protection into account. Thus, “sexual confusion” has been very common for about fifteen years to prevent the development of grape worms. This method consists of implanting, in the vineyard plots, diffusers emitting hormones in excess in order to disorient the male worms and thus prevent them from reproducing.
The quality of the berries is essential
In Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the grapes are imperatively harvested by hand then sorted and only the berries that have reached full maturity and are in perfect condition are kept. Some winegrowers even carry out a double sorting when the harvested crop enters the cellar. To be considered at good maturity, the grapes must have a sugar content below a threshold defined for the grape variety (example: 216 grams per liter of must for Grenache).
The figures in a few words
Today, reds represent 93% of production and whites 7%. There are 280 farms and the average annual production between 2011 and 2020 amounts to 92,320 hectoliters. A third of the AOC surface area is managed in organic viticulture and two thirds of sales are for export.
We now invite you to discover our two magnificent representatives of this beautiful appellation available in half-bottles.
Drink less but drink better, the half-bottle best suited to your tête-à-tête meals.