Chateauneuf-du-Pape

When the popes were at Avignon in the fourteenth century they built a summer residence above this village; two walls of the keep survive on the hill and give a view over the Rhone. The vineyards are the draw. Many parcels are covered in galets roules, large rounded quartzite stones deposited by an ancient river, which absorb heat by day and release it at night, which growers credit for ripeness. Thirteen or eighteen grape varieties are permitted depending on how the count is made, with Grenache dominant. In 1923 the growers wrote rules for the area that became the model for the French appellation system.

Background

The village sits about 3 kilometres east of the Rhône and 12 kilometres north of Avignon, and had 2,050 residents in 2023. A Latin document of 1094 first records it as Castro Novo, a term then used for a fortified village, and the modern name derives from that early form, not from the papal castle. The official name switched from Châteauneuf Calcernier to the present one only in 1893. The oldest building in the commune is a Romanesque chapel that monks from the Avignon abbey of Saint-Théodoric built around the end of the 10th or the start of the 11th century. The castle was built for Pope John XXII, the second pope to reside in Avignon.

Source: Wikipedia, "Châteauneuf-du-Pape"

What you'll find

• The galet vineyards - parcels paved in large rounded stones.
• The papal castle ruin - two walls of the keep above the village.
• The cellars - tasting rooms through the village and in the vineyards.
• The Rhone view - the river and Avignon from the hill.

When to go

April to October; harvest is September. Many domaines require appointments and close for lunch. Summer heat here is intense and the stones radiate it.

What to expect

Prices are high and free tastings are less common than in other regions. Serious visits need booking. The village itself is small and largely commercial.

Nearby

Avignon lies south; Orange is north.

Key facts