Clos des Papes

The Clos des Papes is one of Châteauneuf-du-Pape's historic estates in the Rhone Valley. Owned by the Avril family since 1756, it is today Paul-Vincent Avril who manages the estate in the pure tradition initiated by his father Paul Avril who brought the estate to the top of its reputation.

The property is certified organic.

The property covers an area of ​​32 hectares divided into 24 plots combining all the terroirs, microclimates and grape varieties of the appellation. We find in this mosaic terroirs of finesse and terroirs of power. Sands, classic stony soils, more clayey soils, but also parcels sloping north, others more exposed to the Rhone heats. A cocktail that has allowed each variety to be planted on the terroir that brings it to its optimum quality. Grenache in colder conditions, Syrah on poor stony soils, Mourvèdre on richer clay soils.

This variety of terroirs, parcels and grape varieties are one of the secrets that make Clos des Papes one of the greatest wines of the Châteauneuf du Pape appellation.

The most qualitative techniques are applied to Clos des Papes:

Manual harvest

For the red wines, winemaking in concrete tanks until the malolactic fermentations
Aged in oak barrels, lightnings of at least three wines to exhaust the tannins
Collage with egg whites and bottling without filtration.

For white wines, aging on fine lees in stainless steel vats until spring before bottling.

The wines of Clos du Pape reflect the expression and the power of Mourvèdre and Grenache married to the typical aromatic and spicy Syrahs. The wines require time to express all their aromatic complexity.