Château Sixtine (Vignobles Diffonty)

Château Sixtine is a family-run property, and traces of the Diffonty family go back to 1673. The family worked in agriculture, growing olives, cherries, vines, roses and fodder; viticulture became its main activity only at the beginning of the 20th century, with the creation of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation. Félicien Désiré Diffonty (1869-1953), the founder of the domaine, owned 2 hectares of vines in Châteauneuf in 1900. The family owned 7 hectares in 1920, and in 1930 the domaine had 10 hectares of vines in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, with most of the harvest sold in bulk. In 1929 Marius Félicien Diffonty (1903-2000), next in the line of succession, built his own house, five vats, a small cellar with big oak casks and a stable on the site of the current domaine on the Route de Courthézon. In 1953 Félicien Diffonty decided to market the property's wine more actively in bottles, and in 1958 he created the Cuvée du Vatican brand name. The operating company is EARL Château Sixtine, at 10 Route de Courthézon in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and tours and tastings are offered under the name Vignobles Diffonty.

• Traces of the Diffonty family go back to 1673
• 1900: founder Félicien Désiré Diffonty owns 2 hectares of vines in Châteauneuf
• 1929: Marius Diffonty builds the house, five vats and a small cellar on the current site
• 1930: 10 hectares of vines in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, most of the harvest sold in bulk
• 1958: Félicien Diffonty creates the Cuvée du Vatican brand name
• Operating company: EARL Château Sixtine

Jean Marc Diffonty (b. 1972), son of Félicien Diffonty, carries on the family traditions after four generations and is the person responsible for EARL Château Sixtine. He has worked to maintain the family traditions since 1990 and took the reins of the domaine in 1993 at the retirement of his father. He became president of the young winegrowers of Châteauneuf-du-Pape in 1996 and later president of one of the appellation's producers' trade unions; in 2013 he was Vice-President of the Federation of Producers' Trade Unions. His father Félicien Diffonty was elected President of the Young Winemakers of Châteauneuf-du-Pape in 1962 and was mayor of Châteauneuf-du-Pape from 1965 to 1995. In 1924 Félicien Désiré Diffonty and Marius Diffonty took part in the creation of the Syndicate of Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

• Jean Marc Diffonty (b. 1972): took the reins in 1993; responsible for EARL Château Sixtine
• Jean Marc Diffonty: president of the young winegrowers of Châteauneuf-du-Pape in 1996
• Félicien Diffonty: mayor of Châteauneuf-du-Pape from 1965 to 1995
• Marius Félicien Diffonty (1903-2000): built the cellar on the Route de Courthézon

The estate extends over 15 hectares in Châteauneuf-du-Pape; it owned 14.50 hectares in 1999. Its vineyards span sands, galets roulés and red clay. Sands to the east of the appellation, from the erosion of safres, extend over 7 hectares. Galets roulés, the rounded pebbles, cover a vineyard of 5.50 hectares dominated by Grenache Noir and Mourvèdre. The red clay lieu-dit Barbe d'Asne lies on clay and limestone terrain without pebbles, and its 2.20 hectares are planted exclusively with Syrah. Five grape varieties dominate: Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre for red, Roussanne and Clairette for white. Grenache accounts for approximately 60% of the vineyard's production.

• Sands east of the appellation: 7 hectares
• Galets roulés: 5.50 hectares, dominated by Grenache Noir and Mourvèdre
• Barbe d'Asne red clay lieu-dit: 2.20 hectares, planted exclusively with Syrah
• Grenache: approximately 60% of the vineyard's production

The estate is managed in separate vineyard lots. Grapes are hand-picked, yields are kept low, and grapes are selected on the vine and in the cellar. For red wines the grapes are destemmed, crushed very lightly and macerated for 20 to 35 days in stainless steel and cement tanks, fermenting at a controlled 25 to 26 degrees; the reds are refined for 12 months in vats, casks and tanks. White wines ferment at 18 to 20 degrees with malolactic fermentation blocked, and are aged exclusively in casks for 9 months. Systematic control of yields came in 1998; a sorting table and destemmer followed in 2001, along with the first single bottling by lot with the 1999 vintage; and a winery renovation ended in 2016 with the acquisition of small storage tanks to facilitate plot selections. In 2024 the Château Sixtine estate obtained organic certification.

• Red maceration of 20 to 35 days in stainless steel and cement tanks
• Reds refined 12 months in vats, casks and tanks; whites aged 9 months exclusively in casks
• Sorting table and destemmer introduced in 2001
• Organic certification obtained in 2024

The range comprises four wines: Château Sixtine Red, Château Sixtine White, Cuvée du Vatican Red and a Cuvée du Vatican Côtes du Rhône Villages Red. Jean Marc Diffonty created the Réserve Sixtine plot selection of the Cuvée du Vatican in 1998, and in 2001 the Réserve Sixtine represented 25% of the estate's Châteauneuf-du-Pape production; a Réserve Sixtine White followed in 2005, and in 2010 the brand evolved from Réserve Sixtine to Château Sixtine. The Château Sixtine Red 2024 blends 48% Grenache, 28% Syrah, 23% Mourvèdre and 1% Clairette from organic farming, with production of 22 000 bottles. The certified organic Château Sixtine White 2025 is 82% Roussanne and 18% Clairette, with 3,600 bottles. The Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée du Vatican Réserve de l'Abbé Red 2025 is 60% Grenache, 25% Syrah, 12% Mourvèdre and 3% other varieties, with 80 000 bottles. The Côtes du Rhône Villages Cuvée du Vatican Red is at least 50% Grenache, with Syrah and Mourvèdre at a minimum of 20%.

• Château Sixtine Red and White (Châteauneuf-du-Pape)
• Cuvée du Vatican Réserve de l'Abbé Red (Châteauneuf-du-Pape)
• Cuvée du Vatican Red (Côtes du Rhône Villages)
• Château Sixtine Red 2024: 48% Grenache, 28% Syrah, 23% Mourvèdre, 1% Clairette

In the estate's words, its sands produce wines "characterized by extreme elegance, great harmony and tannins, that, in the mouth, flow like fine sand", its pebble terroir "powerful wines with unrivalled concentration", Grenache "gives our wines their powerful flavour (with their notes of very ripe red berries) and aromatic persistence", Syrah is "a vital element in the production of the Château Sixtine", and Mourvèdre "provides our wines with their basic framework and structure". Jean Marc Diffonty continues the work of his family while affirming what the estate calls a more modern style, and on the sorting table he says: "…during the grape harvest, my place is at the sorting table. Indeed, like a Michelin-starred chef, I check and select the quality of the various elements that will make up the final dish."

• Sands: elegance, harmony and fine-grained tannins, in the estate's words
• Galets roulés: powerful, concentrated wines, in the estate's words
• Mourvèdre: framework and structure, per the estate

Wine Spectator's Top 100 of 2005 ranked the Diffonty & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée du Vatican Sixtine Réserve 2003 at No. 19, with 95 points and a listed price of $55. Wine Spectator reviewed the Châteauneuf-du-Pape Château Sixtine 2022, listed under the producer name Vignobles Diffonty, in its December 15, 2025 issue.

• No. 19 in Wine Spectator's Top 100 of 2005: Cuvée du Vatican Sixtine Réserve 2003, 95 points

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.chateau-sixtine.com/en/, https://www.chateau-sixtine.com/en/men/, https://www.chateau-sixtine.com/en/land/, https://www.chateau-sixtine.com/en/know-how/, https://www.chateau-sixtine.com/en/wines-chateau-sixtine-cuvee-du-vatican/, https://www.chateau-sixtine.com/en/wine-tourism/, https://www.chateau-sixtine.com/les-hommes/, https://www.chateau-sixtine.com/la-terre/, https://www.chateau-sixtine.com/le-savoir-faire/, https://www.chateau-sixtine.com/wp-content/uploads/ft_red_sixtine_2024_gb.pdf, https://www.chateau-sixtine.com/wp-content/uploads/ft_white_sixtine_2025_gb.pdf, https://www.chateau-sixtine.com/wp-content/uploads/ft_vatican_2025_gb.pdf, https://www.chateau-sixtine.com/wp-content/uploads/ft_cdrv_gb.pdf, https://www.chateau-sixtine.com/mentions-legales/. Secondary sources: https://top100-list.winespectator.com/?year=2005, https://www.winespectator.com/wine/wine-detail/id/1322977/name/vignobles-diffonty-ch%C3%A2teauneuf-du-pape-ch%C3%A2teau-sixtine-2022/guest. Last verified 2026-10-12. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.