Clos des Papes

Clos des Papes is one of the great established names of Châteauneuf-du-Pape with the family living in the village for centuries and also being among the people who created the appellation for the village, the first in France to do so. Currently run by Paul-Vincent Avril who is also the winemaker, he attended wine school in Burgundy in the 1980’s, and after also working abroad including a stint at Mount Mary with Dr John Middleton, he returned home to work with his father in 1988. Since then he has succeeded to make what many regard as the best single example of the appellation producing just one red wine and one white wine. No special cuvees are produced and no grapes bought and no grapes or must are sold, simply 2 outstanding wines from both colours both containing all the varieties that the appellation approves. Clos des Papes is not only regarded as the benchmark producer of the appellation but is also frequently recognised as being one of the leading estates of all France.

The property has today 40 ha, of which 3 ha is planted to white varieties with 30 different parcels spread around the village. A parcel is nearby the pope's castle and has been surrounded by walls (clos). From here came the name of the domain. For the red Chateauneuf, Clos des Papes has planted about 65% Grenache, 20% of Mourvedre, 10% Syrah with about 5% being a mix of all the other permitted varieties. Clos des Papes is one of the few estates to use all permitted varieties for both red and white Chateauneuf. They are well-known for producing one of the most authentic and long-lived examples of the appellation having started estate bottling in 1896. The white Chateauneuf-du-Pape also ages extremely well providing great drinking pleasure for 20 years or more. It is made from almost equal percentages of all the six permitted white varieties which are co-fermented in two separate ferments, one for early ripening varieties and the second for the late ripening varieties. Yields are kept very low, frequently about a half or a third of what the appellation permits. These wines are very limited and always in high demand.

“Tasting in the cellar at Clos des Papes with Paul-Vincent Avril is an experience not to be missed, as he drops wine-making facts and philosophical nuggets into every discussion. With the focus on crafting only a single cuvée of red and white Châteauneuf-du-Pape, a visitor inevitably misses out on many of the decisions that led to the blending of any given foudre's contents, but it is easier to see a picture of the overall vintage, at least as seen through the lens of Avril's wine-making. Grenache yields in 2017 were approximately 15 hectoliters per hectare, versus 25 hectoliters per hectare in 2016, so there is much less wine, and the 2017 Clos des Papes will have a higher proportion of Mourvèdre as a result. Fortunately, the quality of the Mourvèdre was exceptional in 2017, Avril says. As readers seem to always demand updates at ten-year intervals, I asked Avril about his 2008. It's one of the wines of the vintage and remains delicious to this day. Without prompting, he also opened the 2003 (not overdone at all and still drinking well) and the 2000 (still yummy and in no danger of tipping over). "I like the wines between 15 and 20 years," Avril says. Sounds like good advice to me, although I find them wonderfully drinkable all throughout their roughly two-decade lifespan.” The Wine Advocate, September 2018.

The white wines of Clos des Papes are well documented for their superb ageing capacity with the wines going through various phases of development over 20 or more years. In the first year or two the wine shows primary fruit with notable pear aromas with lovely floral lift. After the primary fruit has settled the wine becomes more mineral and restrained with aromas closer to an Alsace Riesling from three to eight years of age. Then the third stage of development brings notes of grilled nuts and honey bringing the wine closer to a mature Meursault in character. All of this achieved without oak maturation and no malo, simply having the right blend of varieties that bring freshness and also body to these superbly complex and satisfying white wines.

Serving advice from Paul Vincent Avril (proprietor + winemaker): Our wines should be served at a temperature of 14-15°.
You can decant them but it is not necessary to do so 2 hours before because it is always interesting to appreciate the evolution in the glass.

2022 Châteauneuf-du-Pape blanc - due May 2024
Made from roughly equal quantities of all 6 permitted white varieties, Grenache blanc, Bourboulenc, Clairette, Roussanne, Picpoul and Picardin fermented cool and kept on lees for 5 months, no malolactic. These whites have not only amazing richness and depth, but also fabulous acidity and structure enabling them to age effortlessly for 20+ years. In youth the wines show primary characters of pear skin and orchard fruit, and after nearly 2 years the primary fruit makes way for more minerality and structure giving characters resembling Riesling. With further ageing notes of grilled nuts and honey start to appear and with each vintage the evolution naturally happens at its own pace giving wines of remarkably different character as they age.
”The 2022 Châteauneuf Du Pape Blanc is the usual blend of all the permitted varieties. It shows the richer, layered, opulent style of the vintage beautifully, with loads of pear, acacia flower, citrus oil, and spice notes all defining the aromatics, and it's full-bodied, with a layered, opulent texture and a great finish.” 97 points, Jeb Dunnuck, October 2023

2021 Châteauneuf-du-Pape rouge - due May 2021
Spring frosts on 8th April reduced the crop by about 40% in this vintage, and it was the Syrah which was most affected so the percentages this year change a little to 50% Grenache, 40% Mourvèdre, 5% Syrah with a splash of other varieties. 100% destemmed and natural yeast fermented over several weeks. Matured in large oak casks for 12-15 months. Bottled unfined and unfiltered.
”Cherries, raspberries and truffles appear on the nose of the 2021 Chateauneuf du Pape, which weighs in at 15.1% alcohol. Showing ample concentration and length, this medium to full-bodied effort isn't quite as well endowed as the 2022, but it's still a gorgeous wine, framed by silky tannins and finishing with bright, pomegranate-like fruit.” 95 points, The Wine Advocate, September 2023
”One of the standouts in the vintage is the 2021 Châteauneuf Du Pape, a ripe, round, medium to full-bodied 2021 offering a beautiful array of black cherry and darker berry fruits, ample Provençal spice, and dried flower nuances. Wonderfully textured and balanced, with ripe tannins, as usual, Vincent has made one of the wines of the vintage. This will evolve gracefully for 15+ years.” 95 points, Jeb Dunnuck, October 2023
”Elegant and approachable, this stunning red offers seductive aromatics of smoked incense and red tea, with floral high notes, followed by a well of cassis, licorice and red currant flavors coated in graphite. Dusty in feel, with fine-grained tannins bringing structure and textural complexity, while an iron element lingers on the very long finish. Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre. Drink now through 2035.” 96 points, Wine Spectator, January 2024

2020 Châteauneuf-du-Pape rouge
50% Grenache, 35% Mourvèdre, 10% Syrah with a splash of other varieties. 100% destemmed and natural yeast fermented over several weeks. Matured in large oak casks for 12-15 months. Bottled unfined and unfiltered.
”Proprietor Paul-Vincent Avril expects to bottle 100,000 bottles of something approximating this "final blend," tasted out of foudre. A blend of 55% Grenache, 35% Mourvèdre and 10% Syrah and other permitted varieties, the 2020 Chateauneuf du Pape looked exceptional on this day, offering up scents of framboise and kirsch alongside dried flowers and Asian spices. Full-bodied yet weightless, silky and long, this is special stuff, complex and balanced.” (96-98) points, The Wine Advocate, May 2022
”Beguiling, with a plume of black tea and incense leading off, followed by black cherry reduction, cassis, melted black licorice, warm earth, singed tobacco and garrigue accents. Offers breadth and depth with a seamless feel, capped by a subtle mineral edge that lingers lengthily amid the beautiful fruit. Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre. Best from 2024 through 2040. 8,000 cases made.” 97 points, James Molesworth, Wine Spectator, January 2023
”The 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape is a silky, elegant wine that shows the vintage to a T. I was able to taste through all the foudres of the cuvée as well as one that’s a final blend, with all showing beautiful red and black fruits, peppery garrigue, and floral nuances. The purity of fruit is remarkable, and this will be a medium to full-bodied, finesse-driven, yet still concentrated vintage for this cuvée that readers will love.” (94-96) points, Jeb Dunnuck, November 2021

extremely limited quantities of wines with a little age released from the deep cool underground cellar of Clos des Papes from time to time

2017 Châteauneuf-du-Pape rouge - very limited estate release
”As predicted last year by Paul-Vincent Avril, the 2017 Chateauneuf du Pape is a blend of 45% Grenache, 40% Mourvèdre, about 10% Syrah and the rest other permitted varieties. It boasts a cool, fresh nose of strawberries, cola and tree bark, yet it's full-bodied and tannic on the palate. Dense and chewy, albeit with a mouthwatering sense of freshness, this will need a few years to relax and unwind, but it looks very promising.” 96 points, The Wine Advocate, Joe Czerwinski, August 2019
”One of the strongest wines in the vintage is the 2017 Châteauneuf Du Pape from Vincent Avril. This beauty has everything you could ask for. As with the 2018, the blend is heavily shifted toward Mourvèdre, and it offers a mammoth bouquet of black cherries, graphite, cured meats, Asian spices, and assorted garrigue-like nuances. Deep, full-bodied, and concentrated, it stays straight and focused on the palate (whereas the 2016 is more expansive and voluptuous), with a stacked mid-palate, ripe, silky tannins, and fabulous length. You’re going to want bottles of this in the cellar, and comparing the 2007, 2010, 2016, and 2017 over the coming two decades is going to be a treat.” 98+ points, Jeb Dunnuck, August 2019

2015 Châteauneuf-du-Pape rouge - very limited estate release
”This offers a drop-dead gorgeous core of cassis and raspberry pâte de fruit flavors that hold center stage but still allow notes of Lapsang souchong tea, anise, incense and shiso leaf to chime in. Very long, with a sublime feel through the mineral-tinged finish. So seductive already, but this should cruise in the cellar. Drink now through 2040. 6,000 cases made.” 98 points, James Molesworth, Wine Spectator, November 2017
”Bottled in May, the 2015 Chateauneuf du Pape is a floral, elegant, unbelievably complex wine. Roses and violets, cherries and stone fruit, cinnamon and allspice and more are carried across the full-bodied yet almost weightless palate, finishing in a swirl of silky tannins and lingering spice. Drink it over the next two decades.” 97 points, The Wine Advocate, Joe Czerwinski, November 2017
”Tasted on three separate occasions, the 2015 Châteauneuf-du-Pape from Paul-Vincent is a classic, elegant, and incredibly complex style of wine reminiscent of a Grand Cru Red Burgundy (Chambolle-Musigny?). Black raspberries, blueberries, incense, pine resin, dried orange and exotic floral notes give way to a medium to full-bodied, ethereally textured 2015 that has moderate tannin, beautiful purity, and a seamless finish. I compared this to an improved 2005 last year when I tasted it from barrel, but I’m not sure that comparison holds today, and I struggle to come up with another similar vintage. Nevertheless, this is a beautiful wine that should be at its best from 2020-2030+.” 95 points, Jeb Dunnuck, October 2017