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Châteauneuf-du-Pape () is a
French wine French wine is produced throughout all of France in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France is one of the largest wine producers in the world. French wine traces its history to th ...
, an ''
Appellation d'origine contrôlée In France, the ''appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (, ; abbr. AOC ) is a label that identifies an agricultural product whose stages of production and processing are carried out in a defined geographical area – the ''terroir'' – and using ...
'' (AOC) located around the village of
Châteauneuf-du-Pape Châteauneuf-du-Pape (; ) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. The village lies about to the east of the Rhône and north of the town of Avignon. A ruined medieval castle s ...
in the Rhône wine region in southeastern
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. It is one of the most renowned appellations of the southern part in the Rhône Valley, and its vineyards are located around Châteauneuf-du-Pape and in neighboring villages,
Bédarrides Bédarrides (; Provençal: ''Bedarrida'') is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Name The settlement is attested as ''villa Betorrida'' in 814, ''Biturrita'' in 898, ''Bistur ...
,
Courthézon Courthézon (; ) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its over ...
and Sorgues, between
Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...
and Orange. They cover slightly more than 3,200 hectares or and produce over 110,000
hectolitres The litre ( Commonwealth spelling) or liter (American spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic centimetres (cm3) or 0.001 cubic metres (m3). A cubic ...
of wine a year, more wine made in this one area of the southern Rhône than in all of the northern Rhône.K. MacNeil (2001). ''The Wine Bible''. Workman Publishing. p. 248. .


History

Châteauneuf-du-Pape literally translates to "The Pope's new castle" and, indeed, the history of this appellation is firmly entwined with papal history. In 1309,
Pope Clement V Pope Clement V (; – 20 April 1314), born Raymond Bertrand de Got (also occasionally spelled ''de Guoth'' and ''de Goth''), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 5 June 1305 to his death, in April 1314. He is reme ...
, former
Archbishop of Bordeaux The Archdiocese of Bordeaux (–Bazas) (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Burdigalensis (–Bazensis)''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Bordeaux (–Bazas)''; Occitan: ''Archidiocèsi de Bordèu (–Vasats)'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or a ...
, relocated the papacy to the town of Avignon. Clement V and subsequent "Avignon Popes" were said to be great lovers of
Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...
wines and did much to promote them during the 70-year
Avignon Papacy The Avignon Papacy (; ) was the period from 1309 to 1376 during which seven successive popes resided in Avignon (at the time within the Kingdom of Arles, part of the Holy Roman Empire, now part of France) rather than in Rome (now the capital of ...
. At the time, wine-growing around the town of Avignon was anything but illustrious. While the Avignon Papacy did much to advance the reputation of Burgundy wines, they also promoted
viticulture Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine ...
of the surrounding area, more specifically the area north of Avignon close to the banks of the
Rhône The Rhône ( , ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Ròse''; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Rôno'') is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and Southeastern France before dischargi ...
. Prior to the Avignon Papacy, viticulture of that area had been initiated and maintained by the Bishops of Avignon but largely for local consumption.
John XXII Pope John XXII (, , ; 1244 – 4 December 1334), born Jacques Duèze (or d'Euse), was head of the Catholic Church from 7 August 1316 to his death, in December 1334. He was the second and longest-reigning Avignon Pope, elected by the Conclave of ...
, who succeeded Clement V, in addition to Burgundy wine, regularly drank wine from the vineyards to the north and did much to improve viticultural practices there. Under John XXII, the wines of this area came to be known as "Vin du Pape", this term later becoming "Châteauneuf-du-Pape". John XXII also built the castle which is the symbol of the appellation. In the 18th century, the wines were shipped under the name ''vin d'Avignon''. Records from the early 19th century mention wines of the name ''Châteauneuf-du-Pape-Calcernier'' which seems to have been a lighter-style wine than the Châteauneuf-du-Pape of today. They seem to have increased in reputation within France until
phylloxera Grape phylloxera is an insect pest of grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. Grape phylloxera (''Daktulosphaira vitifoliae'' (Fitch 1855) belongs to the family Phylloxeridae, within the order Hemiptera, bugs); orig ...
hit in the early 1870's which was earlier than most other French wine regions were affected.
Jancis Robinson Jancis Mary Robinson OBE, ComMA, MW (born 22 April 1950) is a British wine critic, journalist and wine writer. She currently writes a weekly column for the ''Financial Times'', and writes for her website JancisRobinson.com, updated daily. She ...
(Ed.), ''The Oxford Companion to Wine'', 3. Ed., Oxford University Press, 2006, , pp. 159-160
Prior to
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, the bulk of Châteauneuf-du-Pape was sold to Burgundy as ''vin de médecine'' to be added to Burgundy wine to boost the strength and alcohol levels.


Early AOC regulations

In the early 20th century, Châteauneuf-du-Pape was plagued by wine fraud; various rules for the production of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, drawn up and promulgated in 1923, were the first Appellation Contrôlée rules in France and provided the prototype for subsequent AOC rules. The original AOC rules allowed ten varieties, were amended to thirteen in 1936 and eighteen in 2009. Baron Pierre le Roy of
Château Fortia Château Fortia is a French wine producing estate in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape (AOC), Châteauneuf-du-Pape region of the Rhône Valley (wine), Rhône Valley. With a history dating back to the eighteenth century (on land that has been producing wi ...
was the principal architect of these regulations which set the minimum alcohol level of the wines and set limits on yields as well as which types of grapes could be grown in which areas. Another of the baron's requirements was that no vineyards were to be planted on land that was not arid enough to support plantings of both
lavender ''Lavandula'' (common name lavender) is a genus of 47 known species of perennial flowering plants in the sage family, Lamiaceae. It is native plant, native to the Old World, primarily found across the drier, warmer regions of the Mediterranean ...
and
thyme Thyme () is a culinary herb consisting of the dried aerial parts of some members of the genus ''Thymus (plant), Thymus'' of flowering plants in the mint family Lamiaceae. Thymes are native to Eurasia and north Africa. Thymes have culinary, medici ...
.H. Johnson and J. Robinson ''The World Atlas of Wine'' p. 136 Mitchell Beazley Publishing, 2005; . In 1954, there was a media sensation as local stories claimed that "flying cigars", or UFOs similar to flying saucers, had been spotted above Châteauneuf-du-Pape and that aliens were interested in their wine. Local politicians, said to be sensing an opportunity to promote the region's wines, passed a law banning flying cigars from entering their airspace or landing on their territory, a law which remains in effect to this day. The legend has become lore among wine aficionados, and the wine Cigare Volant (French for "flying cigar"), in production since 1984, is named after the tale.


Climate and geography

The appellation stretches from the eastern bank of the Rhône near Orange in the north-west to Sorgues near Avignon in the south-east. The altitude reaches 120 meters at its highest, in the northern part of the appellation. It covers 3200 hectares of land with at least three distinct types of soil or ''terroirs''. In the north and north-east the famous '' galets roulés'', round rocks or pebbles, cover the clay soil. The rocks are famous for retaining the heat from the plentiful sun, some 2800 hours a year, releasing it at night, ripening the grapes faster than in the eastern part of the appellation, where the soil is mostly sand, or the south, where the soil is more gritty. The powerful '' mistral'' wind carries away the moisture, intensifying the dry climate.


''Terroir''

The characteristic ''
terroir (; ; from ''terre'', ) is a French language, French term used to describe the environmental factors that affect a crop's phenotype, including unique environment contexts, farming practices and a crop's specific growth habitat. Collectively, th ...
'' of Châteauneuf-du-Pape comes from a layer of stones called '' Galets roulés'' ("
pebble A pebble is a clastic rocks, clast of rock (geology), rock with a grain size, particle size of based on the Particle size (grain size), Udden-Wentworth scale of sedimentology. Pebbles are generally considered larger than Granule (geology), gra ...
s"). The rocks are typically
quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock that was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tecton ...
and remnants of Alpine glaciers that have been smoothed over
millennia A millennium () is a period of one thousand years, one hundred decades, or ten centuries, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting p ...
by the
Rhône The Rhône ( , ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Ròse''; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Rôno'') is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and Southeastern France before dischargi ...
. The stone retains heat during the day and releases it at night which can have an effect of hastening the ripening of grapes. The stones can also serve as a protective layer to help retain moisture in the soil during the dry summer months.K. MacNeil ''The Wine Bible'' p. 250 Workman Publishing 2001 . Some of the most prestigious vineyards in the area, like Château Rayas, have more traditional looking vineyards without the ''galets''. These are most often vineyards located on south-facing slopes where the night-time radiated heat from the stones would be detrimental to the vines and cause overripening of the grapes.


La Crau

La Crau is one of Châteauneuf-du-Pape's most famous '' lieux-dits'' vineyards. The vineyard is owned primarily by Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe, one of the most classic Châteauneufs, but also producer Henri Bonneau maintains a firm position here. The vineyard is very rich in the aforementioned ''galets roulés'', while Domaine du Vieux Lazaret with its over 100 hectares owned by Vignobles Jérôme Quiot is the largest.


Wine

Châteauneuf-du-Pape can be either red or white wine, but the large majority of the wines produced are red. The appellation rules did not until recently allow production of rosé. The wines have traditionally been packaged in distinctive heavy dark
wine bottle A wine bottle is a bottle, generally a glass bottle, that is used for holding wine. Some wines are fermentation (wine), fermented in the bottle while others are bottled only after fermentation. Recently the bottle has become a standard unit of ...
s embossed with
papal regalia and insignia Papal regalia and insignia are the official items of attire and decoration proper to the Pope in his capacity as the visible head of the Catholic Church and Monarch, sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State. Regalia The regalia of ...
. However, in recent times a number of producers have dropped the full papal seal in favour of a more generic icon, while still retaining the same heavy glassware.


Grape varieties

Châteauneuf-du-Pape traditionally has had thirteen
grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began approximately 8,0 ...
varieties Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
, but the 2009 version of the AOC rules changed that list to eighteen varieties, since ''blanc'' (white), ''rose'' (pink) and ''noir'' (black) versions of some grapes are now explicitly listed as separate varieties.Décret n° 2009-1275 du 20 octobre 2009 relatif aux appellations d'origine contrôlées «Saint-Pourçain», «Bugey», «Roussette du Bugey», «Morey-Saint-Denis», «Tavel» et «Châteauneuf-du-Pape», Version consolidée au 24 octobre 2009
Also in the previous version of the appellation rules, Grenache and Picpoul were associated with different pruning regulations in their ''noir'' and ''blanc'' versions, bringing the number of varieties previously mentioned from thirteen to fifteen.K. MacNeil ''The Wine Bible'' p. 249, Workman Publishing 2001 .
accessed on June 16, 2008
Red varieties allowed are Cinsault, Counoise, Grenache noir,
Mourvèdre Mourvèdre (; also known as Mataro or Monastrell) is a red wine grape variety grown in many regions around the world. It is found in the Rhône and Provence regions of France, the Valencia and Jumilla, Bullas and Yecla '' denominaciones de or ...
,
Muscardin Muscardin is a dark-skinned grape variety primarily found in the southern part of the Rhône (wine region), Rhône region. It is primarily noted for being one of the thirteen grape varieties permitted in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC, Châteaune ...
, Piquepoul noir,
Syrah Syrah (), also known as Shiraz, is a dark-skinned grape variety grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce red wine. In 1999, Syrah was found to be the offspring of two obscure grapes from southeastern France, Dureza and Mondeuse ...
, Terret noir, and Vaccarèse (Brun Argenté). White and pink varieties are Bourboulenc, Clairette blanche, Clairette rose, Grenache blanc, Grenache gris, Picardan, Piquepoul blanc, Piquepoul gris, and
Roussanne Roussanne () is a white wine grape grown originally in the Rhône wine region in French wine, France, where it is often blended with Marsanne. It is the only other white variety, besides Marsanne, allowed in the northern Rhône appellation d'Orig ...
. (The varieties not specifically mentioned before 2009 are Clairette rose, Grenache gris and Piquepoul gris.) Both red and white varieties are allowed in both red and white Châteauneuf-du-Pape. There are no restrictions as to the proportion of grape varieties to be used, and unlike the case with other appellations, the allowed grape varieties are not differentiated into principal varieties and accessory varieties. Thus, it is theoretically possible to produce varietal Châteauneuf-du-Pape from any of the eighteen allowed varieties. In reality, most Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines are blends dominated by Grenache. Only one of every 16 bottles produced in the region contains white wine. With 72% of the total vineyard surface in 2004, Grenache noir is very dominant, followed by Syrah at 10.5% and Mourvèdre at 7%, both of which have expanded in recent decades. Cinsaut, Clairette, Grenache blanc, Roussanne and Bourboulenc each cover 1-2.5%, and the remaining seven varieties each account for 0.5% or less. It is common to grow the vines as '' gobelets'' and this is the only vine training system allowed for the first four red varieties. Yields are restricted to two
ton Ton is any of several units of measure of mass, volume or force. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses. As a unit of mass, ''ton'' can mean: * the '' long ton'', which is * the ''tonne'', also called the ''metric ...
s per
acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...
.


Red wines

In most red Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Grenache noir is the most common variety, although some producers use a higher proportion of Mourvèdre. Grenache produces a sweet juice that can have almost a jam-like consistency when very ripe. Syrah is typically blended to provide color and spice, while Mourvèdre can add elegance and structure to the wine. Some estates produce
varietal A varietal wine is a wine made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label.The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000.winepros.com.au. ...
(100%) Grenache noir, while a few producers insist on using at least a token amount of all thirteen originally permitted varieties in their blend. One of the few estates to grow all these varieties and use them consistently in a blend is
Château de Beaucastel A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking reg ...
. Châteauneuf-du-Pape red wines are often described as earthy with gamey flavors that have hints of
tar Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. "a dark brown or black b ...
and
leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning (leather), tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffal ...
. The wines are considered tough and tannic in their youth but maintain their rich spiciness as they age. The wines often exhibit aromas of dried herbs common in
Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...
under the name of ''
garrigue Garrigue or garigue ( ), also known as phrygana ( , n. pl.), is a type of low scrubland ecoregion and plant community in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome. It is found on limestone soils in southern France and around the ...
''. Châteauneuf-du-Pape dominated by Mourvèdre tend to be higher in tannin and requiring longer cellaring before being approachable.


White wines

White Châteauneuf-du-Pape is produced by excluding the red varieties and only using the six permitted white varieties. The white varieties account for 7 percent of total plantings according to 2004 statistics, and a portion of the whites grapes are blended into red wines, which means that white wine production only accounts for around 5 percent of the total. In white Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Grenache blanc and Roussanne provides fruitiness and fatness to the blend while Bourboulenc, Clairette and Picpoul add acidity, floral and mineral notes. The style of these wines range from lean and minerally to oily and rich with a variety of aromas and flavor notes—including
almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', Synonym (taxonomy)#Botany, syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree from the genus ''Prunus''. Along with the peach, it is classified in the subgenus ''Amygdalus'', distinguished from the other subgenera ...
, star fruit,
anise Anise (; '), also called aniseed or rarely anix, is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to the eastern Mediterranean region and Southwest Asia. The flavor and aroma of its seeds have similarities with some other spices and herbs, ...
,
fennel Fennel (''Foeniculum vulgare'') is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized ...
,
honeysuckle Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or Vine#Twining vines, twining vines in the genus ''Lonicera'' () of the family Caprifoliaceae. The genus includes 158 species native to northern latitudes in North America, Eurasia, and North Africa. Widely kno ...
and
peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and Agriculture, cultivated in China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties called necta ...
.J. Molesworth '
The Best White Wine That You're Not Drinking
"'' Wine Spectator, December 15, 2007.
A single varietal, Roussanne, that is matured in an
oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...
aging barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden stave (wood), staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers ...
, is also made by some estates. Most whites are made to be drunk young. Some white Châteauneuf-du-Pape are meant to age and tend to develop exotic aromas and scents of orange peels after 7–8 years.


Winemaking styles

Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines are often high in alcohol, typically 14-15.5%, and must be minimum 12.5% under the appellation rules with no
chaptalization Chaptalization is the process of adding sugar to unfermented grape must in order to increase the alcohol content after fermentation. The technique is named after its developer, the French chemist Jean-Antoine-Claude Chaptal. This process is not i ...
allowed. Winemaking in the region tends to focus on balancing the high sugar levels in the grape with the
tannin Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and Precipitation (chemistry), precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' is widel ...
s and
phenols In organic chemistry, phenols, sometimes called phenolics, are a class of chemical compounds consisting of one or more hydroxyl groups (− O H) bonded directly to an aromatic hydrocarbon group. The simplest is phenol, . Phenolic compounds ar ...
that are common in red Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Following
harvest Harvesting is the process of collecting plants, animals, or fish (as well as fungi) as food, especially the process of gathering mature crops, and "the harvest" also refers to the collected crops. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulses fo ...
, the grape clusters are rarely destemmed prior to
fermentation Fermentation is a type of anaerobic metabolism which harnesses the redox potential of the reactants to make adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and organic end products. Organic molecules, such as glucose or other sugars, are catabolized and reduce ...
. The fermentation temperatures are kept high, with the skins being frequently pumped over and punched down for the benefit of tannin levels and color extraction to achieve the characteristic dark Châteauneuf color. Beginning in the 1970s, market tendencies to prefer lighter, fruitier wines that can be drank sooner have prompted some estates to experiment with
carbonic maceration Carbonic maceration is a winemaking technique, often associated with the French wine region of Beaujolais, in which whole grapes are fermented in a carbon dioxide rich environment before crushing. Conventional alcoholic fermentation involves cru ...
. Low yields are considered critical to the success of Châteauneuf-du-Pape with the principal grape varieties tending to make thin and bland wine when produced in higher quantities. The AOC requirements limit yields to 368 gallons per acre, which is nearly half the yields allowed in
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
.K. MacNeil ''The Wine Bible'' p. 251 Workman Publishing 2001 . The common technique of using small barrel oak is not widely used in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape area, partly due to the fact that the principal grape Grenache is prone to
oxidation Redox ( , , reduction–oxidation or oxidation–reduction) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of the reactants change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is ...
in the
porous Porosity or void fraction is a measure of the void (i.e. "empty") spaces in a material, and is a fraction of the volume of voids over the total volume, between 0 and 1, or as a percentage between 0% and 100%. Strictly speaking, some tests measure ...
wooden barrels. Instead, Grenache is vinified in large cement tanks, while the other grape varieties are made in large old barrels called ''foudres'' that do not impart the same "oaky" characteristics as the smaller oak barrels.


References


External links


Site des Vins d'AOC Côtes du Rhône

Chateauneuf.com
Main website of boutique shop in Châteauneuf du Pape that stocks wine from most of the local producers

Non commercial website with information about producers of Châteauneuf du Pape {{DEFAULTSORT:Chateauneuf-du-Pape AOC Rhône wine AOCs de:Châteauneuf-du-Pape#Der Wein