1999 Châteauneuf-du-Pape

The moderate rain that fell on August 30 of 2000, according to Vincent Avril, was a welcome relief to the thirsty vines on the south side of the Chateauneuf du Pape appellation, which had suffered from heat and drought through most of that month. The Avrils started the harvest on September 12 with syrah. The next important rain fell on September 20, but Chateauneuf dodged potential disaster: just 25 millimeters (or about one inch) of rain fell, but Marseilles and Montpellier not far to the south and west were flooded with nearly 8 inches of precipitation. The Mistral took hold the following day, and the grapes quickly dried and began to shrink. Vincent Avril describes this highly promising vintage as beween 1990 and 1995 in style: that is, with almost the material of '90 but a bit less acidity than '95. Like 1998, 2000 brought a large crop, which for Clos des Papes means a scant 30 hectoliters per hectare.

Paul and Vincent Avril produced just 27 hectoliters per hectare in 1999, after eliminating fruit on three different occasions: in August, at the harvest, and as the fruit was brought into the cellar. The harvest was done in two major installments: the estate began on September 14, then stopped for a week after the big rainstorm on September 19, ultimately finishing on October 6. Clos des Papes is typically made with about 30% mourvedre and syrah, and Vincent Avril noted that these varieties did very well in '99. "The trick is to get a thoroughly ripe but balanced wine at 14%, not one that too alcoholic," he told me. Clos des Papes is an especially food-friendly style of Chateauneuf; the Avrils make a point of picking before they get aromas of surmaturite Vincent Avril compares the '99 to the estate's '95-perhaps a bit lower in acidity but with riper tannins.