Thursday, April 9, 2015

The Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC

The Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC is known for "rich red wines redolent of the heat and herbs of the south" and "full aromatic white wines with a crisp freshness," with both styles complexed by blending; up to 13 varieties for the reds and five for the whites. I was pleased to be invited by the Fédération des Syndicats de Producteurs Châteauneuf-du-Pape to explore the region and its wines as part of a 2014 Digital Wine Communications Conference pre-conference Press Trip. The trip itinerary is presented below.

Visits
Meals and Tastings
Terroir of Chateauneuf-du-Pape with geologist Georges Truc (treated previously)
Lunch at La Mère Germaine with a tasting of CdP whites
Domaine La Barroche
Dinner at La Table de Sorgue and tasting of older CdP vintages
Domaine de Nalys

Chateau Fortier

Ogier – Clos de l’Oratoire


It is from this visit, plus subsequent secondary research, that I have crafted this description of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC.

The Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC, the largest and most important of the Southern Rhone AOCs, is located in the westernmost portion of the Vauclause region, 19 km north of Avignon and 10 km south of Orange. Its 3200 ha of vineyards renders it the largest appellation in the Southern Rhone (and almost equal to the size of the entire Northern Rhone, which comes in at 3264 ha) and its annual production surpasses the total of all of the Northern Rhone appellations.

The appellation is distributed over five communes and 134 lieux-dits.

Commune
Size (ha)
Percent
# of Lieux-dits
Percent of Lieux-dits
Chateauneuf-du-Pape
1706
52.8
76
56.7
Courthézon
663
20.5
26
19.4
Orange
381
11.8
6
4.5
Bédarrides
353
10.9
23
17.2
Sorgues
128
4
3
2.2
Total
3231
100
134
100

The appellation's climate is Mediterranean with approximately 2800 hours of sunshine and 650 mm of rain annually. The mistral, a strong, cold, dry wind from the north or mortheast, is a striking feature of the environment. It blows annually for approximately 120 days per year, primarily in the spring and winter. It is advantageous, viticulturally speaking, in that it (i) prevents fungus growth in the vineyards, (ii) rapidly dissipates water from grapes after rainfall, and (iii) protects against late spring frosts. However, it also dries out the soils and can do physical damage to young, unprotected vines.

There is a growing trend in Châteauneuf-du-Pape away from traditional viticulture and towards more sustainable approaches. Many of the vineyards are either organic or biodynamic, or are in the process of converting to one or the other. Syrah vines are trained Guyot while all other varieties are either gobelet or bilateral cordon de royat. Vineyard plantings of the various varieties are as shown below.

Style
Variety
Size (ha)
Red
Grenache Noir
2322.62

Syrah
350.32

Mourvedre
213.68

Cinsault
83.13

Counoisé
14.24

Muscardin
10.83

Vaccarèse
4.11

Picpoul
1.8

Terret Noir
0.89

Red Total
3001.82
White/Rose
Grenache Blanc
79.83

Clairette
73.42

Roussanne
35.75

Bourboulenc
34.27

Clairette Rosé
3.9

Picpoul Blanc
1.8

Picardin
0.03

Grenache Gris
0.03

White Total
229.03
Source: Karis, The Chateauneuf-du-Pape Wine Book

The generalized Chateauneuf-du-Pape winemaking process for red wines is illustrated below.



©Wine -- Mise en abyme

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