2017 Clos des Papes Chateauneuf-du-Pape 750 ml

Clos des Papes sits at the very pinnacle of Southern Rhône producers—especially when it rings up a perfection-pushing 98+ points from Rhône maven Jeb Dunnuck, who called the 2017 Clos des Papes “one of the strongest wines in the vintage,” and concluded that “this beauty has everything you could ask for.”  

This blue-chip Châteauneuf-du-Pape truly does have everything—including an insanely affordable price, especially compared to the company it keeps: The six wines that scored higher than the Clos des Papes in 2017 average over $230 per bottle. For a classic of the appellation delivering the goods in an excellent vintage, you can’t do any better.

Clos des Papes produces just one flagship wine, not a range of luxury cuvées, which means that when you get a bottle of Clos des Papes, you are getting their Grand Vin, full stop. We tasted the 2017 in the Clos des Papes cellar, where we sampled this gorgeous ruby-hued blockbuster among the stone walls and man-sized oak foudres, well before Dunnuck’s rave was published. We certainly didn’t need any critical blessing to make us eager to bring this Rhône powerhouse back to our members, because the first sip announced it as the perfect segue from one stellar vintage to the next.

Pouring a deep red, swirling the ’17 Clos des Papes sends a staining robe of ruby up the side of the glass, and makes the aromas jump out: dark cherry, raspberry, hoisin sauce, Asian five-spice, with undertones of cured meat and anise. With a powerful and supple full body and a long complex finish, this is another grand achievement for the house whose name is synonymous with class and consistency in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Irresistible now, but if you can, put some away for a decade.

Bordeaux has its classed growths, and if the Rhône had such a classification system, Clos des Papes would be a First Growth. The estate has taken home Wine Spectator’s Wine of the Year title (the magazine calls it a “perennial member” of their Top 10) and has been singled out by Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate as “one of the reference point estates for traditional, age-worthy Châteauneuf du Pape.” High praise, in a category that includes powerhouses like Château de Beaucastel, Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe, and Clos St. Jean.

 Clos des Papes dates back to 1896, when Paul Avril first started producing and bottling his wines and selling them out of his cellar door. He was instrumental in establishing Châteauneuf-du-Pape as an official appellation in the 1930s, and his winery now enjoys the only kind of blue-chip status available in the Rhône: the kind that comes not from decree, but from years and years of outstanding production. 

Planted over 86 acres spread across Clos des Papes’ 25 parcels, the organically farmed gnarled vines of Clos des Papes poke out of a thick blanket of Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s signature galets roulés. The vineyards produce an absurdly small quantity of fruit (just 1.3 tons per acre), which translates to a ton of exquisite concentration. Vincent Avril destems the berries—a rare New-World touch that yields a more plush wine—and then ages the wine in large, used wooden foudres.

The result is always a pure, powerful, traditional, standard-setting Châteauneuf-du-Pape—but with the 2017, they’ve eclipsed even their lofty standards. Dunnuck has stated that the ’17 reminds him of the 2007, which took home Wine Spectator’s king-making Wine of the Year title. This is one of the finest wines ever made at this century-plus old estate. It sets the bar for a spectacular vintage, and is sure to be a star of your cellar.