Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Tavel, our local AOCs

Châteauneuf-du-Pape (CdP) and Tavel are two Appellation d'Origine Contrôlées (AOCs) in the southern Rhône wine region.  Tavel is 27km east of Uzes, with CdP a further 18km to the east, across Le Rhône.

On the 26^th of May we had our second visit to CdP, this time with Neil, Gee, Theo and Isabella.

Approximately one hour by car from Uzes, we had already confirmed that CdP was an easy day trip from Uzes. Once in the region, it is amazing to observe the varied terroir in which they grow grapes in this region. From large rocks (called gallettes), to clay soils to very sandy, thay have it all.

Our first stop was Domaines Mousset just outside CdP, where Andrew hoped to be able to taste and buy some wine from Xavier Vins.  On entry to the property we noted a Xavier sign, which lead to an area where a mobile bottling plant was in operation.  This ingenious plant was fully enclosed in a semi-trailer housing, and we had a lot of fun watching it operate.  Unfortunately, although we could see them bottling a Xavier red, it must be a separate business from the chateau as we were unable to taste or buy our little man’s namesake wines.

Driving back in to CdP and parking the car, we initially had a very nice tasting at Domaine Durieau (where group photo below was taken), before heading up the hill to see the old Chateau of the Popes and associated views across the Rhone Valley.

Then we made our way to Les Caves St Charles, to meet Guy Bremond for a personal tasting session.  Andrew found Guy the night before as a highly recommended person to meet via Trip Advisor, and was surprised to get an immediate positive response for an appointment via an email exchange after midnight!  Guy is an ex-sommelier, who worked in Hong Kong, with very good English, and a great passion for the wines of Chateauneuf des Papes.  When returning to France he decided to set up a cave in CdP, built strong relationships with several local producers, and agreed to market and sell their wines through his cave.

The cave itself (called St Charles) is built into the hill, atop which sits the Chateau.  It has two tasting rooms, both of which consist of a central table, a couple of wooden benches, along with surrounding boxes full of local wine.  Atmospheric music plays and the lighting is low, which all adds to the experience.

The tasting session covered ~10 wines, with Guy attempting to cover a broad range of styles for us to compare and contrast.  In general, the tasting once again confirmed to Andrew, that CdP may well be his spiritual home in France, greatly assisted by his love of grenache (this will be tested one day when he hopes to visit Bordeaux).  Neil ordered a box of his favourite vin rouge from the tasting, to be delivered to London, and Andrew purchased 3 bottles to be consumed in Uzes.

On the 17^th of June we had our 3^rd and final day trip to Chateaunuef du Papes, this time with Tanya and Terry Christofides, which we augmented with a visit to Tavel, and a very nice lunch at Sorgues (which will be covered in the upcoming post on great meals).

Tavel is roughly half way between Uzes and CdP, approximately 30min drive from each, and is famous for its Rose.  First stop was Domaine Mordaree, where we had a very enjoyable tasting, where our host even took the time to amuse Xavier with a cork balancing competition.

The wines of Mordaree were very nice, particularly the 3 different versions of Rose from different soil types.

After Mordaree, we headed straight to Les Caves St Charles in CdP, for another tasting session with Guy.  We had told Tanya and Terry about Guy and St Charles, and the second personal tasting session was as good as the first (or better; this time we didn’t have to leave in a rush to collect this kids from school).

Andrew and Terry decided to buy a case of their favourite vin rouge from the tasting, which Guy will send to Melbourne after the hot summer months have ended.

On Sunday 25^th June, after spending the day with Rachel, Christian, Lucy and Alex in Avignon, we again visited Tavel (while waiting to collect William from a birthday party he was invited to at a nearby winery!).  As previously indicated Tavel is famous for Rose, even going as far to claim itself as the ‘first city of Rose in France’.

Andrew got out of the car to have this photo taken, showing an old vine happily growing in very rocky soil.

Prior to collecting William we visited the co-operative tasting centre, where it was possible to taste an incredibly varied range of Rose’s (take a look at the colour difference between the 3 bottles on the counter below).  Elle was very taken by the artwork used by the co-operative on specific bottles, including the painting in the background of the picture below, which was being used for a specific wine this year.