2006 Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Vincent Avril told me that his yields in 2007 were 23 hectoliters per hectare; he's relieved he even got that much because in 2008 it was more like 17. "The 2007s are extremely appealing," he told me, "and you could almost drink them right now. They're rich, with lots of kirsch and licorice, but most of them aren't dominated by alcohol. This is the southern limit for syrah and the northern limit for mourvedre," he reminded me, adding that he relishes the challenge of blending those varieties with the "classic" grapes of Chateauneuf. "The blending is the best part," he added, "especially in the last decade, when we've had an almost perfect run of vintages, with exceptional fruit. "

"Two thousand six will be noted for its freshness," Vincent Avril told me. "The pHs are excellent and the yield was quite low, about 21 hectoliters per hectare for us. But I am very strict in my pruning and always do a green harvest at the end of July. Then we use a table de trie at harvest, which brings our production down even further." The Avrils employ 40 pickers to cover 35 hectares of vines, with the objective, according to Vincent, "of spreading the harvest out as much as possible to get more variety and to have more components to work with." Avril tries to avoid new wood as much as possible: "We already have plenty of tannins here, and we don't need to add ones from wood. Maybe it's my Burgundy schooling but I really want to get as much finesse as possible, and in Chateauneuf ripeness isn't an issue." He fears that some people serve his wines too cold, by the way, noting that the tannins can be hard if the wine is any colder than 63 or 64 degrees.