Clos des Papes makes just two wines, one red and one white, and this is the white: a blend of white Châteauneuf-du-Pape varieties from one of the appellation's most respected estates. Expect floral aromatics, citrus and orchard fruit, with real texture and a balance of acidity and roundness. It's a serious white built by a producer better known for its red.
Most people who know Châteauneuf-du-Pape know the reds. Clos des Papes makes one of those too, and it's excellent, but the white gets a fraction of the attention despite coming from the same exacting hand.
The Avril family has been making wine under this label since 1896, and they've never chased volume or a second cuvée to sit alongside the two wines they already make. This is a wine for someone who wants to see a great Châteauneuf-du-Pape producer's approach applied to white grapes: a proper dinner wine rather than an aperitif, with the texture to stand up to real food.
What it tastes like
Floral aromatics lead, with citrus and orchard fruit - pear and quince among them - running underneath. The palate carries real texture, balancing fresh acidity against a rounder, creamier feel rather than sitting on one side or the other. It's a wine that rewards a bit of attention rather than being purely a refreshment white.
Clos des Papes' white is known for how it develops: pear skin and orchard fruit in its first couple of years, moving toward a more mineral, structured character after that, and further complexity with real age. It's built to change in the glass and in the cellar, not just to be drunk on release.
Style at a glance
- Body: Medium to full
- Sweetness: Dry
- Acidity: Fresh, balanced against the wine's texture
- Oak: None - fermented and aged in stainless steel
- Style: Textural, floral, built to age
Food
This wants real food rather than a light salad: roast chicken with tarragon, grilled scallops in brown butter, a creamy mushroom risotto, or pan-fried veal with lemon. Worth trying against a soft-ripened cheese like a young Comté, and it will happily sit alongside a whole roasted fish with herbs.
Who makes it
The Avril family's connection to Châteauneuf-du-Pape goes back to the 1700s, and Paul Avril launched the Clos des Papes label commercially in 1896, making it one of the first estates in the appellation to bottle and sell its own wine under its own name. Paul-Vincent Avril has run the estate since 1988, after training elsewhere in France, including a stint at Château Mouton Rothschild in Bordeaux.
The estate deliberately makes only two wines, one red and one white, with no special cuvée sitting above them - Paul-Vincent Avril has said a prestige bottling would undermine the wine that carries the Clos des Papes name itself. The 35-hectare property spans 24 separate parcels of varied terroir, with 4 hectares set aside for white grapes and around 1,000 cases of the white made in an average year.
About the vintage
The appellation's own account of 2025 describes a demanding season: a wet autumn and winter left the soil holding maximum water reserves, then a changeable spring of alternating sun and rain ran into two significant heatwaves, one lasting three weeks at the season's start with temperatures over 35°C for more than 14 days, and a second in early August that pushed daytime temperatures to 40°C and sped up sugar development. It was the appellation's third-warmest recent vintage, behind only 2022 and 2023.
White grapes were harvested from 10 August, ahead of most of the black grape harvest, which ran into early October. September brought storms and cooler weather that let the remaining fruit finish ripening at a more even pace. The appellation's own assessment of the resulting whites: fresh, balanced and precise, with an aromatic range running from fresh fruit through to exotic fruit, citrus and floral notes - a fair description of the style Clos des Papes' blend is built to show.
Appellation-wide, 2025 produced 88,271 hectolitres in total, with white wine making up 7,460 hectolitres of that at an average yield of 28.27 hectolitres per hectare - broadly in line with recent vintages, and a solid year for the appellation's white wines specifically.
When to drink it
Clos des Papes' white is not really a young wine's game. In its first couple of years it shows pear skin and orchard fruit; by around 2 years it develops a more mineral, structured character; with further age it moves toward grilled nuts and honey. It's drinking well now if you want the fresher side of it, but it's also a genuine candidate for the cellar.
Technical details
| Producer |
Clos des Papes |
| Wine |
Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc |
| Vintage |
2025 |
| Variety |
Traditional white Châteauneuf-du-Pape blend: Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Roussanne, Bourboulenc and Picpoul, with Picardin also used in some recent vintages |
| Region |
Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Southern Rhône |
| Country |
France |
| Fermentation |
Cool fermentation in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts, no malolactic fermentation |
| Oak |
None |
| Lees ageing |
5 to 6 months in stainless steel before bottling |
| Cellaring |
Drinks well young, develops further with 2 or more years in the cellar |
| Serving temperature |
Best served around 10-12°C |
Where to buy
The Clos des Papes Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc 2025 is available in store at The Winery's Queenstown and Arrowtown stores, alongside a large range of New Zealand and international wine.
Questions we are often asked
What does Clos des Papes Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc taste like?
Floral aromatics with citrus and orchard fruit, particularly pear and quince, and a palate that balances fresh acidity against real texture and roundness. It's a dry, medium to full-bodied white from the Southern Rhône.
What grapes are in Clos des Papes Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc?
A traditional blend of white Châteauneuf-du-Pape varieties, built around Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Roussanne, Bourboulenc and Picpoul, with Picardin also used in some recent vintages. Clos des Papes hasn't published the exact 2025 percentages.
How long will Clos des Papes Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc keep?
It rewards patience: pear skin and orchard fruit in its first couple of years, a more mineral, structured character from around 2 years, and grilled nuts and honey with further age.
What food goes with Clos des Papes Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc?
Real food rather than something light: roast chicken with tarragon, grilled scallops in brown butter, mushroom risotto, pan-fried veal with lemon, or a whole roasted fish with herbs.
Who makes Clos des Papes?
The Avril family, who have made wine in Châteauneuf-du-Pape since the 1700s and launched the Clos des Papes label commercially in 1896. Paul-Vincent Avril has run the estate since 1988 and makes only two wines, one red and one white, with no special cuvée.
Where can I buy Clos des Papes Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc 2025?
The Winery stocks Clos des Papes Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc 2025 in its Queenstown and Arrowtown stores.
