Clos de L'Oratoire des Papes : Les Chorégies 2020

A red Châteauneuf-du-Pape from exceptional terroirs

The estate

Named in reference to the oratory located below its first plot, L’Oratoire des Papes has embodied for nearly 150 years the timeless alliance of pleasure and prestige. Revealing the purest, most contemporary expression of Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s four signature soil types, these wines are renowned for their elegance far beyond its borders.

The wine

The Clos de L’Oratoire des Papes Les Chorégies collection, available in red and white, is the result of a selection of outstanding plots in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Sourced from parcels of old vines planted on rolled pebbles for the reds, these wines reveal a concentrated expression of elegance, tension, and generosity.

The vineyard

One of the main distinctive features of Châteauneuf-du-Pape lies in the richness and diversity of its soils, shaped by three distinct geological periods. Limestone fragments, rolled pebbles, safres, and red sandstone can all be found here. True to this diversity, the estate embraces a terroir-respectful approach, applying the principles of organic farming in the vineyard and favoring a low-intervention winemaking style in the cellar, in order to preserve the authenticity and singularity of these terroirs.

Winemaking and aging

Les Chorégies red is vinified exclusively in 18 hL oak vats (foudres). The harvest, carried out largely as whole clusters, benefits from the elongated shape of the foudres, thus providing a large exchange surface between the must and the skins during fermentation. After fermentation, the skins remain submerged to gently extend extraction through an infusion process. The tannins, ripe and supple, are naturally released during a maceration lasting 5 to 7 weeks.

The building blocks of the blend are aged for 12 months in foudres, 300-liter barrels, and amphorae, in proportions determined by the vintage, then for 6 months in concrete tanks and 18 months in bottle.

Blend

Grenache
Mourvèdre