The artists from the rhône valley
Because great wines are the combination of soil, grapes and workmanship.
Domaine des Remizieres
Rhône Valley
The Domaine des Remizières is a legendary exploitation that existed for many generations. She is known primarily for its prized wines and critically acclaimed, Hermitage and Saint-Joseph. Their less famous wines are offered at an excellent value and allow you to savor the richness, elegance and flavors of northern Rhône without being put off by the cost of expensive wines.The vast vineyard Remizières extends from one end to the other northern Rhône - Mercurol to Crozes-Hermitage, through and Tain Hermitage. Therefore, the winemaker can get each year the best grapes available in the area. Syrah - the central element of this name - is chiseled in the rules of art in the field of Remizières.
Philippe, the owner, is part of the third generation of winemakers, but it was not until 1996 that he produced his first vintage. The estate has vineyards in Hermitage and Crozes-Hermitage, whose age varies between 20 and 60 years.Philippe concentrates its wines maintaining low yields and vendangeant only when the grapes have reached full maturity. Its wines are fermented in barrels and left on their lees for an extended period. Very little sulfur dioxide is used and the wines are neither clarified nor filtered. Bottling is done with care to prevent oxidation of the wine and preserve its freshness.
Robert Parker said Philippe Desmeures, owner of Domaine des Remizières, was one of his personalities of the year wine.
"Desmeures has become one of the superstars of Hermitage within three or four years. Lower yields, more mature fruits and wines produced in the most natural way possible, with minimum intervention possible, enabled him to exploit some great terroirs. "
Maison M.Chapoutier
Rhône Valley - Roussillon and much more
HUMILITY AND DETERMINATION
The words that best describe Maison M. Chapoutier.
An Estate that nurtures its vineyards with the greatest respect for natural balance and terroir since 1808.
The family motto “Fac et Spera” – do and hope – says it all.
Two words that sum up all the patience and daring that this art demands: patience in relation to nature which presides; daring for the winemaker, who observes, chooses and assists.
The wine will be the faithful expression of this alchemy.
“In nearly 20 years of wine writing, I have never witnessed a more significant jump in quality and change in winemaking philosophy that what has occurred in the Chapoutier cellars… Few wine firms in the world have produced more extraordinary wines… Michel Chapoutier has become one of this planet’s bright shining lights.” WINES OF THE RHONE VALLEY, Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Being the Domaine with the most 99 to 100 points awarded by Parker, Maison Chapoutier is not only the biggest landowner in Hermitage, but the largest and foremost biodynamic producer in France. His emphasis is placed on the natural development of the terroir (soil signature), minerality, and characteristics of each unique piece of land and thus the wines. It is Michel’s philosophy that his wines are meant to be enjoyed with fine matching food; their ‘marriage’ in terms of the enhancement of flavors, textures, and length from Chapoutier’s impressive portfolio of wines are nothing short of sensational.
Chateau de Saint-Cosme
Gigondas - Côtes du Rhône - Chateauneuf du Pape
In the heart of the appellation Gigondas, the Château de Saint Cosme is an exceptio- nal estate, with its Gallo-Roman fermentation vats perfectly preserved. This fantastic historical site gives a good idea how our ancesters the gallo-romans were living. The property has been in the family since 1490 and saw 14 generations of vignerons.
It has 15 has of old vines (average 60 years old) with a yield of around 27Hos/Ha. The terroir is apparently homogeneous but it’s actually geologically very diverse as the Dentelles de Montmirail makes it very complicated. Saint Cosme is exceptionally located at the crossing of two geological faults, which is very rare. This gives an extraordinary diversity of soils. The microclimate is cool and late ripening. St Cosme Gigondas have the ability to be powerful and refined at the same time.
It was with the "savoir-faire" of a vigneron that Louis created a negociant activity in 1997 a negociant activity that one could call a "Negociant-Vigneron". During his various travels and tastings in the Rhône Valley, he often thought that many great terroirs were under-exploited. He really liked some locations and wanted to try. Louis's wish was to become a negociant which would work with the spirit of a vigneron using ancient methods. This meant: being and remaining a small producer, be followed by winemakers having the same ambition, transport wines in casks to avoid to rack them and kill their fruit, trying to do only nice things every day.
At Saint Cosme they usually work “à la main”. Louis wants to make wines which express their terroir with purity and personality. He want to make balanced wines with a great ability to age.
Francois VILLARD
Rhône Valley
Passion fruit François Villard worked as a chef for a time, and is himself a solid menu whose specialities are fricassée of independence, carpaccio of energy, gratin of boldness and sauté of ambition. All liberally seasoned with intuition. Who would have thought, when he breezily started out in 1989, that nearly 20 years later he would be one of the leaders in the northern Rhône Valley?Without ever losing his look of mischief, François has pushed on with what felt, quite simply, like a calling. He has built it all through a craving for pleasure and work. Neither cranky nor fearful, he has driven his ideas to the limit – often by instinct. Over the years everything has gelled into solid experience, and the man has forged a vigneron’s well-tempered resilience. In 1993 came the first press article and his first selection in a guide: François skipped around his kitchen, as joyful as a schoolkid in a playground. The youngster had always dreamed of one day ranking among the great winemakers; he was not arrogant, it just seemed self-evident. Thus could he forever feel the “vine magic” that had beguiled him when, aged 20, he had met his first growers. Thus could he give lifelong roots to an emotion, the way he had felt when, in 1987, he had tasted the Condrieu of Lucien Desormeaux. In Poncins, where he planted his very first vine, is a big rock. Sometimes, on days of doubt, François goes to sit on it: what if the dream were to end? A classic bout of the blues for a hyperactive grower who will never depart from his true nature: he is a wine adventurer.
Domaine Fontaine du Clos
Rhône Valley/Provence
The Barnier family has always lived in Sarrians,spreading out between the Rhone and the Dentelles de Montmirail.
The spirit of enterprise and the notion of work well done are shared values through the generations.Emile the great-grandfather and Georges the grandfather were both wine growers. Then Jean and Nicole created the winery which is today run with a lot of enthusiasm and dynamism by Jean-François and Céline.
THE VINEYARD
“In the heart of Provence”. Located in one of the most beautiful region of France, the 100 hectares of vines composing the Domaine are established on stony and calcareous-clayey soils. The vineyard is planted with not less than 50 different varieties, flooded with sun and ideally purified by the Mistral wind.
THE WINERY
“The modernity to the service of quality”
The winery is fitted out with state-of-the-heart equipments. The stainless steel tanks are equipped with thermo-regulation circuits for perfect temperature control during fermentation.
The concrete tanks allow the wines to grow and mature in a traditional way. Some of the wines benefits of an ageing in oak barrels.
Maxime GRAILLOT (Domaine EQUIS)
Rhône Valley
One of nature's activists
By the time you leave Alain Graillot, everything you imagined about him has been set straight. A hard-core organic grower? Pragmatic, rather, never accepting a label that would padlock his methods. Years ago, he was an engineer in the agrochemical industry. That part of his past subsequently saved him lots of time: no weedkillers, no pointless treatments. A self-assured man? A perpetual observer of nature, let’s say, because he feels it is “the basis of agriculture”. The previous owner of his estate worked all the vines by hand, they were well rooted. When he bought it in 1988, Alain Graillot could not imagine doing otherwise. A man backed by his reputation? Let’s say he never claims to know it all; he always listens to others, even with 20 years under his belt. With his son Maxime, now working alongside him, he has “gained and learned a great deal”. An intransigent man? Exacting, let’s say. Each morning, he happily heads off to his vines, repeating that he’s going to “make some good wine” and that he will never let down his Burgundy grower friends, “they’ve been there since day one, and we’ll never be ashamed of their help”. A partisan? Let’s say committed to keeping his freedom of choice: joining an anti-GM crop group is his way of flouting the rules laid down by the great powers of the food industry. A traditional father? Let’s say anxious to pass on his artisanal craft to Maxime, so that this ancestral farming expertise is never lost. By the time you leave Alain Graillot, you say to yourself that you have met a free man; that the earth is firmly anchored in his head and feet.