Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vintage 1986

The AOC Châteauneuf-du-Pape is one of the most beautiful AOCs in the Rhone Valley. It is famous for its red wines but also offers magnificent white wines. Quality has no price! This is why on each vintage all the grape varieties planted in our plots allow us to best express the terroir that is ours. Let us explain how the harvest took place in 1986:

The growing cycle of the 1986 harvest took place under favourable climatic conditions.

From June 20, a period of rather marked drought was to end at the end of August, when our vineyards received abundant stormy precipitation. Overall, the vines in the South Rhône Valley, especially on the AOC Châteauneuf-du-Pape, will have run out of water. 

These last rains followed by a beautiful sunshine had a beneficial effect that allowed the grapes to reach a good maturity.

The hot summer months, followed by a supply of water at the right time, allowed the plant to achieve the desired balance.

The earlier harvest than last year began with the cinsault and syrah varieties around mid-September.

Despite the prospect of an abundant harvest, the AOC Châteauneuf du Pape has decided to maintain the yield at 35hls/ha in order to encourage winemakers to proceed to an ever stricter selection.

The harvest figures show an average yield of 32.5 hls, which is lower than last year’s yield of 10,000 hls, for a total of 104,000 hls, including 4,600 hls of white.

This clearly demonstrates the validity of the Syndicate’s decision and the seriousness of the winemakers who carried out a scrupulous sorting.