Sources de Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Sources de Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the Vaucluse department of Provence, France, offers bicarbonate mineral spring waters in the village that gives its name to one of the world's most celebrated wine appellations—Châteauneuf-du-Pape, whose Grenache-based blends from galets roulés (large rounded stones that store solar heat) on the plateau above the Rhône have defined the standard for southern Rhône wines since the Avignon papacy of the fourteenth century established the papal summer palace whose ruins still dominate the village. The bicarbonate mineral character of the spring reflects the complex calcareous and sandstone geology of the Rhône Valley's eastern plateau, where the diverse soil compositions of Châteauneuf's thirteen permitted grape varieties create agricultural complexity mirrored in the spring's layered mineral character. The papal heritage, the galets roulés wine tradition, and the bicarbonate spring waters together create a Châteauneuf visit where France's most storied wine appellation and its mineral spring heritage share the same southern Rhône geological and cultural landscape.