Clos des Papes - Châteauneuf-du-Pape Paul April 2021

The domain

Paul Vincent Avril, one of the best winegrowers in Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Le Clos des Papes is made up of 40 hectares divided into 24 very distinct plots. This division makes it possible to control the maturity of the berries at harvest time and to combine several grape varieties (65% Grenache, 20% Mourvèdre, 10% Syrah, 5% Counoise, Vaccarèse and Muscardin for the reds) and different terroirs.

Yields are around 28 hl per hectare, sometimes falling below 15 as in 2013! With the addition of strict sorting of the harvest with a constant concern for quality. Aged in oak barrels for 12 to 15 months depending on the vintage, the wines are traditionally fined with egg white but not filtered.

The Avril family has been based in Châteauneuf-du-Pape since 1600 and the first vintage of Clos des Papes is 1896. It is signed by the great-grandfather of the current owner, Paul Avril. The latter contributed greatly to the creation of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape Appellation by bringing together a commission at the village town hall in 1911 to establish the foundations of the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée which would see the light of day in 1936. Régis Avril, his son, continued his father's work by continuing to export Clos des Papes (75% of production goes to 25 countries!), and by serving it in particular at the Elysée to General de Gaulle then under Pompidou.

His son, Paul, who entered the estate at the age of 26, was able to perpetuate the tradition of quality to gradually hand over the estate to his own son, Paul-Vincent, from 1988. For more than 20 years the latter has continued in the same path, that of tradition and the production of great aging wines of impeccable quality. He did not give in to the temptations of plot selection to produce a few "garage wines", offering only one quality of red (90% of the Clos des Papes production, the remaining 10% being white). This courageous choice makes each bottle of Clos des Papes unique, coming from an exceptional and harmonious blend of grape varieties and complementary terroirs.