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Clos des Papes Chateauneuf du Pape 2017 (Magnum 1.5L)  - First Bottle

Reviews

98+ Jeb Dunnuck -
One of the strongest wines in the vintage is the 2017 Chateauneuf Du Pape from Vincent Avril. This beauty has everything you could ask for. As with the 2018, the blend is heavily shifted toward Mourvedre, and it offers a mammoth bouquet of black cherries, graphite, cured meats, Asian spices, and assorted garrigue-like nuances. Deep, full-bodied, and concentrated, it stays straight and focused on the palate (whereas the 2016 is more expansive and voluptuous), with a stacked mid-palate, ripe, silky tannins, and fabulous length. You're going to want bottles of this in the cellar, and comparing the 2007, 2010, 2016, and 2017 over the coming two decades is going to be a treat.
96 Decanter -
There's 10% less Grenache in the blend this year, topped up with extra Mourvèdre which certainly makes itself felt. The final assemblage has a lovely depth and concentration of fruit, and is relatively tannic and structured in this vintage. It has plum and violet lift to the aromatic profile, and perhaps sacrifices a little elegance for power and potency in 2017 - not necessarily a bad thing, depending on your taste. A Clos des Papes for the depths of the cellar.
96 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate -
As predicted last year by Paul-Vincent Avril, the 2017 Chateauneuf du Pape is a blend of 45% Grenache, 40% Mourvèdre, about 10% Syrah and the rest other permitted varieties. It boasts a cool, fresh nose of strawberries, cola and tree bark, yet it's full-bodied and tannic on the palate. Dense and chewy, albeit with a mouthwatering sense of freshness, this will need a few years to relax and unwind, but it looks very promising.

Technical Details

  • BlendProprietary Blend
  • CountryFrance
  • RegionRhone
  • AppellationChateauneuf du Pape
  • Alcohol15.5%

Clos des Papes Chateauneuf du Pape 2017 (Magnum 1.5L)

Rhone Blends  |  France
JD98+, D96, WA96

Too late, we are SOLD OUT!

Drinking this wine is THRILLING -- like skydiving into the Grand Canyon thrilling (can you do that?). What's better than that? Drinking it form a magnum bottle! Gorgeous, massive and potent, but despite being so packed with flavor and concentration, it somehow remains focused and fresh, one of the signatures of this wine. Huge scores, year after year, and an all-time Chateauneuf classic!

CLOS DES PAPES, of course, is one of the greats. We tasted with Paul-Vincent Avril some years back, and were struck by his approach: he said, “Well, I love Burgundy, and that’s what I was trained to make, but upon inheriting the winery, I now basically use my Burgundian training with Grenache”. We're going to go ahead and say that is a good approach. The 2017 is SENSUAL! SUBLIME! SEXY! Having quite a bit more Mourvedre in the blend this year gives this wine a lot more power, structure and grip than previous vintages and therefore will improve greatly with bottle age. As Decanter put it "A Clos des Papes for the depths of the cellar." 

About the Producer

Paul Avril, born in 1873, was one of the people behind the creation of the Chateauneuf appellation. In 1896 he started Clos des Papes. Regis Avril, born in 1901, delivered wines to two presidents of France General de Gaulle and Georges Pompidou. Paul Avril, born in 1937, started working at the domain in 1963 at first together with his father and later for many years with his son. Paul-Vincent Avril attended wine school in Burgundy and when he went back to the domain in 1988 he had visions about finesse and elegance and he still considers these qualities as most important. Today the family works with 24 parcels totaling 79 acres from multiple soils types and is arguably the very best producer of CdP in the world.