Cellier des Princes

The Cellier des Princes name is coming from the prestigious history of the Princes of Orange. One of them, Willem 1, aka "The Taciturn", named after his silent character illustates well the personnality of the CELLIER DES PRINCES winegrowers. Men which believe than actions speak louder than words. Theses men have written the story of CELLIER DES PRINCES. In 1925, a group of winegrowers, upholding values of fraternity and solidarity, decided to team up. 11 years later, this visionnary men will be involved in the creation of the 1st AOC in France : CHATEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE

In the 60s, the second generation of winegrowers from CELLIER DES PRINCES anticipated the leisure society and the growth of wine tourism. For that matter, they installed the tasting room of CELLIER DES PRINCES next to the national road 7 (RN7) Trusted supplier of the most prestigious negociants from Burgundy and Rhône, historically merchants of Châteauneuf du Pape, CELLIER DES PRINCES sells them for decades the CHATEAUNEUF DU PAPE coming from its vgineyard. The exceptionnal quality from the terroirs of CELLIER DES PRINCES brings to the CHATEAUNEUF DU PAPE wines, but also to the COTES DU RHONE, rare qualities which are valued at prices way beyond the market price. Business is good.

The winegrowers have to deal with a fickle price of CHATEAUNEUF DU PAPE, but they can't accept such variations for very long. In the early 2000s, the market price was a its lowest, a rebellion starts. At the General Assembly in 2005, the board is overthrown, the président is removed from his position, a news order is emerging.In the shadows for decades while they produce a prestigious wine not bearing their name, CELLIER DES PRINCES take control of its own destiny. The winegrowers will produce and sell directly they own bottles of wine under the brand CELLIER DES PRINCES

In less sthan 10 years, the sales in bottles of CELLIER DES PRINCES have been multiplied by 6, reaching 96% of the total production. United as they were in the early days, the winegrowers of CELLIER DES PRINCES are today proud to have their wines enjoyed throughout the 5 continents and proud to share their values of conviviality and excellence.

Châteauneuf-du-Pape is a French wine Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) located around the village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the Rhône wine region in southeastern France. The future AOC system was initiated in 1923 in Châteauneuf du Pape for the 1st time. It was actually created by the Baron Pierre Le Roy de Boseaumarié with the organisation in charge of establishing and controlling the Protected Designation of Châteauneuf du Pape. On 15 May 1936, French President Albert Lebrun signed the decrees of the first AOC in France, Châteauneuf du Pape.

Pearched on a 120 meters high hill, Châteauneuf du Pape stands proud and erects in the heart of the plain of Comtat Venaissin. The village is located halfway between the two prestigious cities of Orange and Avignon, in the Vaucluse department. The nearby left bank of the Rhône river is a reminiscent of its common History with the local vineyard.

Thousands of years ago, the inland seas of the secondary and tertiary eras successively formed different sediment layers from which stems the subsoil of the existing vineyard. Due to the glaciation of the quaternary era, the Rhône river became extremely powerful to such an extent that it smashed everything in its path such as rocks coming from the mountain sides of the French Alps. Those stones eroded over the time and deposited in calmer places of the river as in Châteauneuf du Pape.

The characteristic terroir of Châteauneuf-du-Pape comes from a layer of stones called galets roulés ("round pebbles"). The large pebbles contribute to the quality of the vines and grapes by storing heat during the day and holding water.The stones release the heat at night which helps to obtain an optimal ripeness. In 1305 Clement V became the new Pope but he declined to move to Rome, remaining in France, and in 1309, he moved his court to the papal enclave at Avignon where Châteauneuf du Pape started to get a world exposure. Under the papacy of Clement VI, in 1344, was registered the first Terroir of Châteauneuf du Pape. The vineyards includes today 3200 hectares of vines spread on 5 Villages : Châteauneuf du Pape, Courthézon, Bédarrides, Orange and Sorgues.

One of the golden rules guaranteeing the quality of Châteauneuf du Pape wines, is the selective sorting, where we keep only the most qualitative berries. Precious grape giving a precious wine. The Vineyard of Cellier des Prince is characterized by a great proximity between our Châteauneuf du Pape vineyards and our Côtes du Rhône/Côtes du Rhône Villages vineyards.

Exceptionnal Terroirs of Côtes du Rhône very close in quality from the Terroirs of Châteauneuf du Pape

Similar plantings as our Châteauneuf du Pape, especially old vines of Grenache.

And most important : a manual harvest which is almost systematic, made from harvesters used to work across the road in the Châteauneuf du Pape vineyards.