OUR WINES

1985 was a truly outstanding vintage. The weather was glorious during the month of September with sunshine levels and temperatures comparable to those we usually see in July and August. The crops were exceptional and displayed optimum ripeness owing to the perfect health conditions of the grapes.

The growing cycle took place in optimum conditions during the 1986 vintage. The intense heat in summer, followed by rainfall at just the right time, enabled the plant to reach ideal levels of balance.

The 1987 vintage was characterized by rather unusual weather conditions. The winter was harsh and snowy, spring was rainy and late to start and the summer was less sunny than most years. These combined factors led to a delay in ripening. The unusual weather gave us an outstanding vintage for the white.

The growing cycle took place in ideal conditions with a mild winter, more humid than usual spring and a beautifully warm and sunny summer. The harvests were carried out in the bright sunshine with a gentle Mistral wind which was beneficial to the concentration of the grapes. The harvests gave us splendid fruit with thick skins, an indication of intense color and high quality tannins in the wines to come. This vintage has indeed lived up to our expectations and is one of the finest on record.

Outstanding weather conditions and an equally outstanding vintage – this just about sums up the 1989 vintage ! The first cuvées reflected the flawless quality of the harvest. Owing to the very low yields, the resulting juices were intense and deeply colored. The flavors and aromas were able to develop their true scope and complexity thanks to the optimum conditions in which harvesting and vinification took place. These ideal climatic conditions gave rise to wines with remarkable length and beautifully structured tannins. With its balance, harmony and strength, this vintage can be likened to the 1947, 1961 and more recently the 1978, all of which have shown remarkable cellaring potential.

The years go by but some things never change! Following on from the 1988 and 1989 vintages, the vines once again benefitted from ideal climatic conditions this year with a particularly warm and sunny spring. A first rainy spell on the 14 August and a second on the 30 August put an end to the drought and gave the vine the freshness and moisture it needed for the fruit to reach optimum ripeness. This was followed by dry weather and constant Mistral winds which helped to speed up concentration.

The growing cycle in 1991 was characterized by very difficult weather conditions. The vineyard was fortunately spared from the frosts that took hold in late April owing to the Mistral although the warm summer weather did not appear until the second week of June. The harvests began on around the 20th of September which was ten days later than in 1990.

The 1992 growing cycle was impacted by the varied weather. Winter was dry and mild through until late April which led to a quick start to vegetation. Undeniably one of the most intensely aromatic vintages in recent years.

Terroir has once again shown us just how skilled it is at taming the whims of nature. Never before have such consistently high levels of ripeness and high quality been seen in the grapes at the time of harvesting. This point is not to be overlooked as this is precisely what enabled us to produce a vintage of such high quality in spite of the complicated weather towards the end of the harvests.

The July and August temperatures were very high, on average 3 to 4 degrees above the average. A very welcome rainy spell on the 31 July brought some relief from the intense heat and enabled the vine to better resist the drought whilst facilitating the ripening process. The 1994 vintage of L’Oratoire des Papes is up there with the very best of them in terms of quality.

The harvests were of exceptionally high quality as the vines had benefitted from the Mistral winds, an early indication that the 1995 vintage would turn out to be outstanding. The white varietals had ripened early and were therefore harvested as a priority. As for the reds, the Syrahs were harvested first but the winemakers had to wait a while longer for the Grenaches to ripen fully owing to the dry and windy weather.

The first two weeks of September 1996 were characterized by the uninterrupted breeze of the Mistral. This was a blessing for the winemakers who were able to harvest their parcels at optimum ripeness and in ideal conditions.

By the time bud burst occurred the grapes already had a week head start compared to the 1996 vintage. The sunshine and Mistral winds of July enabled the grapes to ripen beautifully. This vintage gave us an elegant and exotic white and a rich and well balanced red.

1998 was an excellent vintage. The late frosts resulted in a loss of buds which had the advantage of limiting the quantity of the grapes and giving us a more concentrated wine. The long, warm summer that followed gave us excellent wines with good potential for bottle age. This vintage is a wine of strong character, deep color and exceptional concentration.

A very distinctive vintage and one that is full of character. The reds and whites from the 1999 vintage reveal the unique character of their terroir and offer excellent cellaring potential.

This vintage cannot compare with the exceptional 1999 but was nonetheless a high quality vintage for this wine. The year was characterized by significant climatic variations and a plentiful harvest. The 2000 offers exceptional structure and cellaring potential.

2001 is undeniably an outstanding vintage and comparable to the 1998, 1990, 1989 and 1978, all of which continue to please wine lovers around the world after so many years.
This vintage will continue to evolve beautifully in the cellar for 30 to 40 years.

A very demanding and above all very rainy vintage. The humidity that had accumulated owing to the heavy rainfall prevented us from harvesting healthy and perfectly ripe grapes.

A record year, climatically speaking. The 2003 vintage was characterized by two phenomenon: severe drought and scorching temperatures. The winemakers will not be forgetting the 2003 vintage in a hurry!

Many a cool night in August resulted in high acidity levels and excellent color concentration in the grapes. The low yields of this vintage were partly to thank for the exceptional quality of the 2004.

High temperatures (although not excessively so), continual sunshine, Mistral winds and cool summer nights all contributed to the exceptional quality of the 2005 vintage.

Ideal conditions for ripening in spite of the lack of rainfall. The 2006 vintage marks the 8th outstanding vintage of the 9 most recent years.

The harvested crops displayed excellent health conditions thanks to the dry and windy summer. The 2007 vintage is comparable to the 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006.

The harvests were characterized by Mistral winds and very low yields. We had become accustomed in recent years to harvesting in late August although in 2008 we had to wait until the last days of September before we were able to start picking our Grenaches and Mourvèdres.

The grapes displayed exceptional health conditions thanks to a warm and dry summer. The high quality of this vintage is a direct reflection of the climatic conditions of the growing season. After what was a very rainy spring, the summer of 2009 blessed us with healthy, intensely colored grapes with remarkable tannic structures.

Rainfall for the agricultural year was in the region of 800mm. The climatic conditions were bordering on oceanic which, although we are not accustomed to this, what is most important is how the rainfall is spread out. The summer of 2010 was one of the driest ever recorded. Fortunately the temperatures were not excessive and the cool nights in the month of August helped to slow down ripening. The summer drought gave us grapes that were small in size and unrivaled in concentration. The 2010 vintage will go down in history as one of the lowest in terms of volume yet one of the highest in terms of the quality of the grapes and wines.

The harvests greatly benefitted from the Indian summer.
What really defined this vintage was the glorious weather throughout the harvest period which allowed us to take ripening to its very limit whilst conserving the excellent health conditions in the grapes. The months of April, May and June were warm and dry which helped to speed up the growth of the vine. It’s always a rush for us in the vineyards at this time of the year but in 2011 we had to run around even faster than usual! We were blessed with some lovely summer storms which gave us 125mm of rainfall and enabled the grapes to ripen gradually and progressively.

The winter, spring and summer of 2012 were rather classic and restrained which gave each terroir the opportunity to express itself in its purest form. There were two spells of heavy rain, the first of which was in late August and saved our vines from the effects of prolonged hydric stress. The second came in late September and helped to speed things up in the later ripening parcels. The fruit harvested was ripe and healthy although required longer vatting than previous warmer years. Vatting lasted up to 6 weeks at temperatures of 25°C with delicate extractions which gave us this magnificent balance in the wines: fruity, smooth and rich yet structured by crunchy tannins which imparted depth of character and excellent cellaring potential.

Spring was one of the coldest and most humid of recent years and more like what we were accustomed to in the 1980’s. The cool temperatures and high humidity were disastrous for our Grenache vines which saw the highest level of shot berries on record. The yields for certain Grenache parcels were as low as 15hL/ha. The glorious summer weather in 2013 was not enough to make up for the late start and we found ourselves with many an empty vat after harvesting. It was soul destroying for our teams to spend a whole morning in the vineyards without being able to fill up so much as a single crate. We ended up with an average yield of no more than 24hL/ha. The Mourvèdre and Syrah vines were less severely impacted by shot berries and therefore made up the majority of the blend. They imparted good density and a firm tannic structure to the wines.

Everything got off to a good start with a mild and rainy winter and high water reserves. Spring was warm and dry which was also beneficial to the vine. Then came summer with its weekly rainfall and unusually low temperatures. We had to juggle between tillage and mowing in order to keep the grass short and then moved on to severe leaf stripping in the late ripening sectors so as to aerate the grapes which had not ripened until late in the season. The harvests were quick and took place between the 17 September and 10 October although the pickers were required to carry out a strict sorting in the vineyards. The sorting tables were invaluable in helping us to further eliminate any damaged or still pink fruit so as to be sure that only the healthiest grapes made it to the vats.

The 2015 vintage was characterized by several spells of intense heat and a few storms which came at just the right time. This vintage can be described as generous in every sense of the word. Generous in structure, color and ripeness but also generous in quantity which is something of a rarity in an appellation known for its low yields.

Whilst the seasonal temperatures remained higher than average, the vine was displaying a bright yellow color and the presses were already being cleaned and packed away. The first wines to come out of the press confirmed our hopes that 2016 would be a truly superb vintage. Some have likened it to the 2010 whilst others go further back still to draw similarities with the iconic 1990 vintage. Whatever the case, we can say for sure that 2016 is nothing short of fantastic.

2017 was exceptional on all fronts with record climatic conditions that resulted in an early, low yielding harvest. It was an unusual vintage to say the least but the quality of the wines was nothing short of outstanding. Reds are characterized by their balance, richness and velvety tannins and the whites by their fresh, fruity and energetic style.

We have to go back quite a few decades to find such a rainy start to the year. Fortunately September was spared the torrential rain which meant that the winemakers could harvest in peace right through until late in the season. The grapes displayed perfect health conditions, red and white from the 2018 vintage are characterized by exceptional ripeness and length on the palate.

In spite of the scorching temperatures and a severe lack of rainfall this year, the harvests gave us intensely colored grapes with thick skins and exceptionally pure aromas.

After the heat and drought of the 2019 vintage and the dense, concentrated wines that resulted, 2020 was a very early ripening vintage that gave us a much fresher style of wine with exceptional balance.

The vintage was characterized by a very dry autumn and winter followed by severe frosts in spring. Rigorous works in the vineyards as well as high vigilance were required in order to protect the soils and keep the vines in good health and harvests were a little later than usual.