Interview with Jean-Marc Diffonty
MAY 2022
A historic family from Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the Diffontys have contributed to the notoriety of the appellation with their famous Cuvée du Vatican. Today, Jean-Marc, who succeeded his father Félicien in 1993, marks a real turning point in the history of the estate with the creation of new cuvées and a trading activity. Focused on agriculture since the 17th century, the Diffonty family opted for vines at the dawn of the last century with Félicien Désiré who founded the estate and began to expand the vineyard. His son Marius took over and created the cellar still located today on the road to Courthézon. He succeeds Félicien, who will have the double role of mayor and winegrower: in the first register, he will administer the town for thirty years, from 1965 to 1995; in the second, he launched the famous “Cuvée du Vatican”. “After the war, my father said to himself that to sell wine in bottles, you needed a name that revolves around the popes because at the time it was a seller. And so it was Cuvée du Vatican that came out.”
The one who speaks is Jean-Marc, son of Félicien, who now runs the family estate: 15 ha of vines in AOC Châteauneuf-du-Pape, divided into 3 terroirs: the district of Rayas and its soil sandy soil, the Crau and its mythical terroir covered with rolled pebbles and, to the west of the appellation, the Barbe d'Asne plot and its clay-limestone soils... "When I arrived in 1990 on the family estate , there was a dominant of rolled pebbles; in 1999, I bought some vines, I sold others, plus a few exchanges… And today I am at a good 2/3 sand and the rest pebbles and clay”.
Another important change: the switch to export in the mid-1990s. The sale of wines, until then 100% French, was redirected to almost 95% abroad! Today, Château Sixtine exports to Northern Europe and North America mainly, to Australia and New Zealand as well and sometimes to China. The rule being one customer per country. "When I have two, they each have a mark." Namely the Château Sixtine range and the Cuvée du Vatican range. The first comes in red and white Châteauneuf-du-Pape (40,000 bottles per year on average, 10% of which are white, blended only with the estate's best juices); the second also in Châteauneuf-du-Pape red but with wines from the property blended with external purchases. The trading range is available with Côtes-du-Rhône and Côtes-du-Rhône Villages in the three colours, again with purchases of finished wines to have the same wine profile every year.
Because Jean-Marc Diffonty also created his own trading house in 1999. In 2010, he decided to create his own brand for the wines produced on the Estate. Cuvée du Vatican then enters a new dimension. “I had to meet the volume needs of my customers and be able to create a specific wine profile. Today, our premium cuvée is Château Sixtine for Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and our trademark is Cuvée du Vatican”.
The house mainly does order trading. The main customers communicate their needs at the beginning of the year for each wine. All that remains is to make the assemblies. “Since some time, I know exactly the taste of my customers. I am looking for several different profiles of which I know how they will marry to achieve the expected result. My clients trust me. I do not need to validate the wines before bottling. It's both a great flexibility of work but also a big responsibility because I must not make mistakes ".
His short-term goal? The renovation of the cellar, which must be adapted to the new logistical needs linked to the trading activity. “I am limited by the volume of the fermentation room and the storage capacity because the cellar was built to process 70,000 bottles and we now distribute more than 400,000”. Including 10% for the Château Sixtine cuvées: a real success!
Jean Calabrese
Vignobles Diffonty – Château Sixtine
10 route de Courthézon à Châteauneuf-du-Pape
04 90 83 70 51
