Château La Nerthe is one of the three biggest domaines in the appellation, one of the oldest and one of the most beautiful. The Châteauneuf-du-Pape from Château de la Nerthe has been renowned since the 17th century and was often enjoyed in the royal court. Its reputation spread over Europe during this thanks to the domaine exporting their wines to England, Germany, Italy and Spain. Loacted in the south-east of Châteauneuf, the vineyard is stony and has the richest source of the famous “galets roulés” or pudding stones, in the whole appellation. Thee stones absorb heat during the day and give it off during the cool nights, allowing the grapes to reach optimum maturity. Until the late 1970s, the reds from this domaine had an ampler style but today they are more delicate and elegant and develop wonderful aromas of black fruit, smoke and spices. The domaine made the change to organic agriculture and obtained certification in 1998. Grapes are picked by hand and yields are strictly controlled: “a bottle per vine stock” is the motto at Château de la Nerthe, or 25 to 30 hectolitres per hectare. Note that the press juice is discarded and not used to make the cuvée. Intense and concentrated, the wines of La Nerthe have wonderful ageing potential. They also produce a well-balanced second wine, Clos de la Granière.