So what is a Châteauneuf-du-Pape? Châteauneuf-du-Pape is a French wine that comes from the area located around the village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the Rhône wine region in southeastern France. Easy enough, but what does that mean? Unlike in the USA where we name the wines after the grape varietals, in Europe, the wines are mostly named after the area or region that it comes from, for example Bordeaux, Chianti, Rioja, etc
Châteauneuf-du-Pape is located in the Southern Rhône Valley. Let’s give a little background of the Southern Rhône Valley, one of my favorite regions in the world.
Everyone has probably heard of and tasted a Côtes du Rhône wine. Côtes du Rhône meaning 'slopes of Rhône' is the vast region, mostly around Avignon in Southern France. The best vineyards are located east of the Rhône River. Wines coming from this region are labeled Côtes du Rhône. Starting from the basic Côtes du Rhône which encompasses the whole region, the next step up is the designation Côtes du Rhône Villages, where 95 communes in the Rhône Valley are allowed to use this designation. That means the grapes must come from within the boundaries of 95 of these villages. The next step up is Côtes du Rhône Villages with the name of the specific village on the label. As of 2009, only 18 villages are allowed to put this designation on the label with strict control on the quality of the grapes. The grapes must be from the named village. The top level is then left for Crus that can call the wines after the village, such as Châteauneuf du Pape, Gigondas and Vacqueyras, etc, without the designation Côtes du Rhône on the label. The most famous Côtes du Rhône is Châteauneuf du Pape - yes, believe it or not, but Châteauneuf du Pape is essentially a Côtes du Rhône, albeit at a higher quality that has been allowed to put the village name on the bottle.
To make it easier, think of it as a dart board. The whole board is Côtes du Rhône. As you move inward, you get to Côtes du Rhône Villages. Move more towards the center and you get Côtes du Rhône Villages with the name of a specific village like Seguret, Sablet, Cairanne, etc. Get to the bulls eye and you have the Crus - Châteauneuf du Pape, Gigondas, Vacqueyras, etc.
Enough about the Rhône Valley, let’s talk a bit of history. Châteauneuf-du-Pape roughly translates to “new castle of the pope”. Rome had been the traditional stronghold of the papacy, but in the 1300s, Pope Clement V relocated the papacy to the town of Avignon. Clement V and subsequent "Avignon Popes" were known to be lovers of wines. Even though wine was made around Avignon, it was not of very high quality. The Popes chose a small village about 10 km north of Avignon close to the banks of the Rhône River, up in the hills, as their summer residence. This village then took up the name as we know it know - Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The Popes decided to plant vines on the stony land which surrounded their landholdings. For a long time the wine production remained a bit of a secret but started to become well known in the 18th century. In 1929, the wines of this region were officially recognized and became its own appellation - Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
Châteauneuf-du-Pape is made from a combination of essentially 13 grapes (more, if you break the grapes out into the blanc and noir categories). However, the most popular grapes include Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre.
