Completing the trilogy of the first seen Chateauneuf-du-Pape releases, I am delighted to advise that Clos des Papes has joined Vieux Telegraphe & Beaucastel in offering its 2019 vintage:
“un très grand millésime” - Vincent Avril
"The 2019s will be a step up over the 2018s and offer more depth, concentration, and richness, showing considerable purity of fruit and elegance.
2019 is a beautiful, possibly exceptional, vintage."
Clos des Papes 2019 (rouge)
£354 per 6 bottles in bond
£363 per 3 magnums ib
£265 per 300cl ib
"Vincent Avril is delighted by the 2019 wines at Clos des Papes, comparing his 2019 red wine with the great vintages of 2016 and 2010. It is extremely balanced: powerful, certainly, but characterised by finesse and silkiness. The yield was ‘normal’ for Clos des Papes, although this is clearly much lower than that which is authorised by the appellation. Vincent makes clear that the only word that matters to him is ‘qualité’ and stresses that Clos des Papes always exhibits 100% of what nature has given the vines."
Clos des Papes 2019 (blanc)
£276 per 6 bottles in bond
"Looking first at the white, the 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape Blanc from the talented Vincent Avril sports a light gold colour to go with a beautifully complex, classic bouquet of lemon curd, exotic flowers, sappy green herbs, and crushed stone-like, salty minerality. These all carry to a medium to full-bodied white that has beautiful depth of fruit on the mid-palate of bright spine of acidity, and a fabulous finish. This cuvée has a long track record of aging gracefully and it can be drunk with considerable pleasure today or cellared for 10 to 15 years if you’re so inclined. Drink to 2035."
94pts - JebDunnuck.com