Chateau Maucoil Chateauneuf-du-Pape

The Maucoil is a historical estate with winemakinghistory dating back to the 17th century. The Arnaud family, who already owned vines in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, decided to purchase the estate in 1995 and devoted a great deal of energy and passion to Château Maucoil.

The estate’s old vines (the youngest are merely 40 years old; the oldest date back to 1895!) grow on the appellation’s four soil types: pebbles, clay-sandstone, Urgonian limestone and, more unusually, sand. Unlike vineyards littered with the famous pebbles of the area, the fine, sandy soil doesn’t retain and transfer heat during the night, resulting in slower ripening and giving wines with more finesse. 

Bénédicte, the Arnauds’ youngest daughter, and her husband, Charles Bonnet, took up the torch in 2009, with a strong desire to secure the future of the estate and to manage it in an environmentally responsible manner. They began the process of converting to organic viticulture in 2011, becoming fully certified in 2014. Along the way, in 2013, they partnered with Frédéric and Benoît Lavau and the four now run the estate together.

Maucoil is one of the few Châteauneuf-du-Pape estates that has conserved all thirteen of this famous appellation’s original grape varieties, and grapes must pass through three rigourous stages of manual sorting before being deemed of high enough quality to be made into wine.

Château Maucoil’s vineyards are located in the northwest of the Châteauneuf du Pape area (on the left bank of the River Rhône) on the appellation’s four soil types: pebbles, clay-sandstone, Urgonian limestone and, more unusually, sand. Unlike the famous pebbles of the area, sand doesn’t retain and transfer heat during the night, resulting in slower ripening and more finesse. The youngest vines average 40 years old, so roots run deep to sustain the vines during the hot summer months. For the Tradition Rouge, four main grape varieties are selected solely from sandy soils – Grenache Noir, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Cinsault. Yields are around 25 hl/ha and harvesting is carried out by hand, with the grapes individually sorted by variety and by parcel before vinification in concrete tanks. After around 30 days in vat, with pumping over, rack-and return and punching down, the wine is matured seperately for different lengths of time, in tanks and in 2-3 year old barrels. The wine is then blended and bottled. 2016 is hailed by Matt Walls an ‘unmissable’ vintage in the Southern Rhône (‘Southern Rhône 2016: ‘Unmissable’ wines’, Decanter 7th December 2017). 

Bright berry fruit, subtle savoury spice, ripe tannins and vibrant acidity. Open, approachable, and very easy to drink already but with a good life ahead of it. 

Organic, sustainable, vegan/veggie.

2014

14.5%

75cl