Châteauneuf-du-Pape

The Southern Rhône Valley appellation Châteauneuf-du-Pape is perfect for growing ripe grapes with style and flavour – it’s no wonder that it’s one of the most famous and highly-sought after wines in the world.

The wines
You’ll recognise Estate-bottled wines by their distinctive embossed bottles carrying the Papal arms – St Peter’s crossed keys. Châteauneuf-du-Pape means ‘Pope’s new castle’ and the appellation gets its name from the relocation of the papal court to Avignon in the 14th century.

===product=713423===

Châteauneuf is renowned for its very high quality red wines, but it also produces whites (about one bottle in sixteen is white). Grenache is the most widely planted grape variety, and the appellation allows a mix of up to thirteen different varieties to make up its reds:
Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Cinsault, Picpoul, Terret Noir, Counoise, Muscardin, Vaccarèse, Picardau, Clairette, Rousanne, Bourboulenc.

And for the whites:
Clairette, Bourboulenc, Grenache Blanc, Picpoul, Viognier and Rousanne.

===product=713168===

It’s all about location
The southern Rhône is bathed in glorious Mediterranean sunshine, and with cooling winds coming off the sea, it’s the perfect environment in which to grow healthy ripe grapes.
Growers will plant different grape varieties that cope best on hot southerly slopes (Mourvèdre) and on cooler sites (Syrah) to make sure each variety is as comfortable as it can be to produce a good crop.

The key to successful production of Châteauneuf is to balance the accumulation of grape sugars with the development of phenolics*, especially tannins.

Soils are varied, but the region is most famed for its pudding stones (galets) left behind by retreating glaciers at the end of the last ice age. These large, rounded stones act as storage heaters – they absorb the heat of the sun then reflect it back to the vines at night. They also help retain moisture in the soil.

===product=712515===

*Large group of highly reactive chemical compounds of which phenol is the basic building block. They include many colour pigments, natural tannins and flavour compounds.