Habemus Papam Châteauneuf-du-Pape

The grapes are hand-picked into crates and sorted manually in the vineyard before a second, table sorting in the cellar.  A proportion is destemmed, the quantity being determined by the nature of the vintage and the parcel, and the grapes are fed by gravity into the vats to ensure the integrity of the berries.  Fermentation takes place in thermo-regulated stainless-steel vats for 20 to 30 days, with two long pumping over sessions daily. Punching down is decided after tasting. Pressed pneumatically. Malolactic fermentation in vat. The wines are clarified by settling over winter in the cellar. Ageing begins in the spring.

Aging 18 months in 36-hectolitre oak Stockinger foudres, and 8-hectolitre terracotta amphorae. Unfined and unfiltered at bottling.