Chateauneuf-du-Pape

Chateauneuf-du-Pape (Châteauneuf-du-Pape) – historic village between the towns of orange and Avignon in the southern French Rhone Valley. Known for its powerful, full-bodied red wines primarily from the grape varieties of the classic “Rhone blend”: Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre.

The vast majority of red wines of this appellation are made from the Trinity varieties, although only 18 are allowed here, which include both red and white.

At the local vineyards, the ball is ruled by Grenache. In one way or another it is present in every bottle of red wine châteauneuf, and many of them are made entirely from this variety. Here Grenache manifests itself better than in any other French region, creating a juicy bouquet of jam of red fruit tones and high potential alcohol.

Next in importance are Syrah and Mourvedre. Syrah works better in the cooler regions. It gives the wine structure and spice tones. Sun, postmenopause Mourvedre reveals more warm and dry vineyards. He says in blends for depth and a hint of bitter chocolate.

Kunuaz is the only grade in addition to the classical Trinity, which is grown here in any appreciable quantities.

The rest Cinsault (Cinsaut), muscardin (Muscardin), picpoul Noir (Picpoul Noir), Terre Noire (Terret Noir), vakaris (Vaccarese) – grow to a very limited extent.

Chateauneuf-du-Pape and produces white wines: rich, full-bodied, with a bright characteristic bouquet. Raw material is coarse varieties of the South of France, primarily Grenache Blanc, Roussanne (Roussanne), claret (Clairette) and burbulenk (Bourboulenc). To complement them virtually unknown outside of the South of France claret rose, Grenache Gris, Picardy, picpoul Blanc Gris picpoul.

The soil of the surrounding area of Chateauneuf-du-Pape is a mixture of sand and pebbles, which was generally the case for the southern half of the Rhone Valley. They are formed mainly by ancient rivers from different historical periods. The city with its vineyards located on the East side of the Rhone river.

Typical vineyard of châteauneuf strewn with rounded boulders – “biscuit” (galets), whose soft forms contrast with the crooked twisted trunks of the vines.

Pebbles and Bush vine Grenache the quintessential image of the vineyards of Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

The climate here is Mediterranean and very dry. Chateauneuf-du-Pape is the most dry of all the appellations of the Rhone. Thus, irrigation during the growing season here is strictly prohibited. In extreme cases, the winemaker must apply for special permission of the French regulator for irrigation of vines.

Chateauneuf-du-Pape literally means “new castle of the Pope” and echoes from the past – from the beginning of the 14th century, when Avignon was chosen as the papal residence. Dad then was Clement V, whose name received the prestigious Chateau Pape Clement (Château Pape Clément) in the Bordeaux region of Graves.

However, as a wine name, the glorious history of Chateauneuf has less than a century. Until the early 20th century unnamed local wines combined with the wines from Avignon. That all changed in the 1920s, when Baron Pierre Le Roy de Boiseaumarié – owner of the Chateau Fort, known as Baron Le Roy, drew up a list of rules to ensure the quality of the local wine production – the document, which became the prototype of the famous French appellations.
Official registration of the appellation Châteauneuf-du-Pape was accomplished in June 1929, becoming one of the first in the country. To this day it remains a prestigious wine labels.

The village of châteauneuf-du-Pape is also known curious law of 1950, prohibiting overflight and landing of “flying saucers” and “flying cigars” in its territory.

Fotozhaba on the subject of flying saucers Chateauneuf

The reason for this ridiculous law was the incident during the cold war, when hovering over the vineyards airship terrified the local population, almost causing panic.

Source: portal wine-searcher.com