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.

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