Clos de Papes Le Petit Vin d'Avril

Great Rhone value from Clos des Papes!

Clos de Papes Le Petit Vin d'Avril...$19.99 
Estate History One of the estate’s with a richest history in Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Clos des Papes has been considered one the appellation’s top estate’s since its beginnings in the early 18th century. 

The Avrils have resisted to follow the trend of producing multiple cuvees due to a belief that all of the wines would suffer because the best fruit is being divided. To this day, Clos des Papes produces one red and one white Châteauneuf-du-Pape and that’s it. This kind of loyalty to the terroir has solidified this estate’s reputation as the epitome of class in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. 

Le Petit Vin d’Avril Vin de Table N.V. Rouge Area: 5 hectares just outside the appellation’s borders on the sandy banks of the Rhône River. Production: 2,500 cases 

Blend: This big bistro blend contains mostly Grenache and Syrah, along with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Mourvèdre, Carignan and Cinsault.  This wine is not declassified Châteauneuf-du-Pape fruit. The dedicated vines for the Petit Vin d’Avril are located near the banks of the Rhône River. These sandy soils to the southeast of Châteauneuf-du-Pape offer good terroir for wines that are easy to drink. Strict vineyard management is the key here. Vincent has a great team he employs year-round to help him keep his vines healthy and to adapt to any kind of weather conditions that show up. In the cellar 

The Petit Vin d’Avril is always a blend, not only of varietals, but vintages as well. Typically, Vincent uses 2/3 of the current vintage and 1/3 of the previous vintage in each year’s bottling. Depending on each year’s production, the blend may include up to four different vintages. The previous year’s wines age in old foudres while they waited to be blended with the younger wine. Vincent likes to rotate out his oldest foudre for a new foudre every couple of years. The new barrel will be used only for the Petit Vin d’Avril during its first 3 years so the foudre has less of an effect on the Châteauneuf-du-Pape when it is finally put to use for that wine.