Clos des Papes

History

Clos des Papes has a rich history dating back to the 18th century, with the Avril family being integral to the region of Châteauneuf du Pape. Historical records show that members of the Avril family served as treasurers and municipal consuls during the second half of the 1700s. The estate itself began producing and selling its own wine in 1896, making it one of the first in the Rhone Valley to do so. Paul Avril, born in 1873, was a key figure in the official birth of the Châteauneuf du Pape appellation.

The second Paul Avril joined the estate in 1963 and passed away in 2009. His son, Paul-Vincent Avril, started working at Clos des Papes in 1988 after training at several other wineries and even working at Château Mouton Rothschild in Bordeaux. Paul-Vincent has continued the family tradition, producing wines that reflect the unique terroir of Châteauneuf du Pape. The estate remains family-run, with Paul-Vincent at its helm, ensuring that the wines embody the estate's long-standing philosophy of quality over quantity[1][2][4].

Terroir

The terroir of Clos des Papes is characterized by a diverse array of soils, including rocky soils, sand, limestone, and gravel. The vineyards span across various terroirs within the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation, with some areas featuring sandy soils in the west and southeastern parts, while others have more rocky, stone-littered soils with clay and limestone in the northeastern part. This diversity in terroirs contributes to the complexity of the wines produced by Clos des Papes. The vineyards are also known for their low yields, with older vines typically producing less than 21 hectoliters per hectare, which enhances the concentration and intensity of the grapes.

The unique terroir, combined with the domaine's biodynamic farming practices and low-yielding vines, allows for an extraordinary expression of terroir in each bottle. The grapes are 100% destemmed, and vinification takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. The wines are fined and not filtered, and aged in old foudres for about 15 months before bottling, which further enhances their terroir-driven characteristics[1][4].