Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vintage 2014

The AOC Châteauneuf-du-Pape is one of the most beautiful in the Rhone Valley. It is famous for its red wines but also offers very nice white wines. This is why on each vintage all the grape varieties planted in our plots allow us to best express the terroir that is ours. 

The 2014 vintage in Châteauneuf-du-Pape is what is commonly called «a vintages of winemakers» so much the work in the vineyard had a crucial importance throughout this year which began early in the season and ended late in the fall. An exhausting year, where experience and anticipation proved to be valuable assets for producing beautiful grapes.

A mild and rainy winter that allowed the water reserves to replenish, followed a dry and warm spring (54 mm of rain over three months and 1°C more than the average for the minimums and maximums). Everything was in place so that the harvest began early, the whites in late August and the reds in early September. The production potential suggests a higher than normal harvest, in order to reduce the yield of the most generous vines, the winemakers devoted part of the month of July to harvest in green. But when it comes to viticulture, it is only certain when the grapes are in vat…

Due to a summer punctuated with weekly rains (158 mm in July August, against 89 mm in 2013 and 91 mm in 2012), cool nights and less than seasonal average sunshine (1768 h over 6 months compared to 1811 h in 2012), in a few weeks the vintage lost its precocity to become one of the most late of the decade. The weeds did not stop growing, until late in the season the winemakers were obliged to plough their vines, then towards the end of the summer, on certain soils, to mow them regularly. With the cultivation methods completed, time was devoted to the stripping and then the preparation of the harvest.

The contrasting weather of the summer of 2014 had the effect of delaying the start of the harvest, which could also be around 16 September. Happy consequence of the succession of a rather cool summer to a rather hot spring, phenolic maturity and technological maturity of the various grape varieties of the appellation have this year perfectly coincided. The few bunches that were not sufficiently ripe or considered to be sufficiently beautiful were discarded at harvest, which is still manual at Châteauneuf-du-Pape and must be completed by compulsory sorting of the harvest, by vine or cellar. These two production conditions included in the specifications are quality factors that the winemakers of Châteauneuf-du-Pape are keen to defend by prohibiting the use of harvesting machines within their appellation.

A late vintage, late drinks. The presses worked until the first days of November, releasing fruity juices, very balanced, slightly less alcoholic than average (1%), with ample and round mouths, fine tannins and well incorporated. The whites show beautiful acidities, they are sharp, long-haired, and will reveal themselves fully to the aging for who will have the patience to keep them long enough.