There
are three main subsoils in Châteauneuf du Pape :
-
The plateau of La Crau, from the Villafranchian period (1.9 - 1.8
million years old) rich with round pebbles from the Rhône,
and a notable layer of blue clay at 7 - 8 meter deep that plays
an important role of humidity regulation in summer. This type of
soil is particularly adapted to wind growing, and produces strongly
characteristic wines, deep and complex.
-
The top plateau in the area of Cabrières is made up of both
Villafranchian round pebbles from the Rhône and loose limestone
from the older Urgonian Period cliffs (127 to 125 million years
old) alongside the western area.
Other
parcels are smaller, but very interesting for wine growing such
as :
-
The medium-height terrace of La Nerthe, which contains a smaller
amount of of Villafranchian pebbles.
- The lower Southern Terrace of Châteauneuf du Pape is from
the Wurmian Period (75 000 years old) and is made up of round
pebbles, loose lime stones with a mixture of very old and more
recent alluvia.
Climate
The
climate of such a widespread appellation as Châteauneuf du Pape,
3200 hectares and 5 communes, is necessarily quite varied. It leads
to small variations in : temperature difference, millimeters
of rainfall and wind strength. Though small, these variations are
enough to consider that Châteauneuf-du-pape has several microclimates.
Generally
speaking, sunlight averages over 3000 hours a year with average temperatures
ranging from 22° Celsius in summer, and 7.3° in winter. Rain
averages 201 mm in summer and 503 mm the rest of the year. The Mistral
wind blows around 158 days per year, including 100 days when it can
blow at 60 kph or more.
Grape
variety
The
grape varieties authorized in Châteauneuf du Pape are :
-
Black varieties : Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Cinsault,
Vaccarese, Muscardin, Counoise, black Terret
- White varieties : white Grenache, Picardan, Roussane, Picpoul,
Clairette, Bourboulence.
The
Châteauneuf du Pape appellation lands of Domaine de la Mordorée
are located at : La Crau, La Nerthe, Cabrières, Le Bois
de la ville.
The
grape varieties are : 70 % Grenache,10 % Mourvèdre, 5
% Cinsault, 5 % Counoise, 5 % Syrah, 5 % Vaccarese.
AOC Châteauneuf du Pape plot in « La Crau »
plateau area
30
cm subsoil cross-section
Very
old vines (80 years old average) on the plateau of La Crau, a terraced
land from the Villafranchian period.
This
area is remarkable for its subsoil as it contains a great amount of
pebbles and a mixture of clayey sand : this layer is light and
drains water down to a 7-8 meter deep layer of clay which retains
humidity, preserving the vines in case of dry spells, such as was
the case during the severe 2003 drought.
This
land is perfect to produce outstanding red wines, both powerful and
subtly fine.
These
shots were taken in early July, before ripening. The soil has been
worked to bury the grass that grows from spring to autumn.
The
Côtes-du-Rhône plots of land at Domaine de la Mordoree
The
great variety of our plots of land throughout the communes,...
(more)
