Source: Issue 227, Wine Advocate; Issue Date: 29th Oct 2016, (RP-96)

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to taste Vincent’s 2015 from foudre, but his 2014 Ch?teauneuf du Pape is certainly one of the wines of the vintage. And while it possesses terrific notes of peppery herbs, Provencial spice, kirsch and darker berry fruits, it’s on the palate where this beauty shines! Medium to full-bodied, incredibly balanced, seamless and pure, with beautiful fruit, it has present tannin, terrific mid-palate depth and a great finish. It won?t be the longest lived wine from the estate, but it’s beautiful and will certainly drink well for a decade.

Drink Date: 2016 – 2026

Source: Winemaker,

Paul Avril (1873-1962) was one of the people behind the creation of the appellation. In 1896 he started to sell his wines with the name Clos des Papes. R?gis Avril (1901-1987) delivered wines to two presidents of France General de Gaulle and Georges Pompidou. Paul Avril (1937-2009) started working at the domain 1963 at first together with his father and later for many years with his son. Paul-Vincent Avril (1965 – ) attended as a young man wine school in Bourgondy and when he went back to the domain in 1988 he had visions about finesse and elegance and he still considers these qualities as most importent for a high class wine.

Today the property covers 32 ha. 3 ha. is with white varieties. 24 different parcels are spread around the town. One parcel is nearby the pope’s castle and has been surrounded by walls (clos). From here came the name of the domain. Since 2011 the vineyards are certified “agriculture biologique”

Only one cuvee of white (10% of the production) and of red Chateauneuf du Pape are made. Since 1991 destalking has been total and since 1987 the total production has been bottled at the domain. The secret behind the high quality is a low yield. In vintage 2007, 2008 and 2009 the yield has been 25, 17 and 19 hl/ha. The yield is minimized by green harvest and by repeated sorting of the grapes during harvest. Clos des Papes is not a place for experiments. The aim is constantly to make a wine of very high quality that meet the expectations from Paul Vincent Avril himself as well from his costumers around the world. It’s a sign of quality to Avril if the wine is recognizable through the vintages. 80% of the production counting about 100.000 bottles is exported. It’s not at all a problem for Avril to sell his wines even in times where the market suffers from crisis.

Chateauneuf du Pape Rouge

65% Grenache, 20% Mourvedre, 10% Syrah and 5% others.

Aged in foudres for 12-15 months.

Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc

Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Clairette, Bourboulenc and Picpoul. No wood involved.