NEW IMPULSE IN THE RHÔNE VALLEY
Okhuysen Magazine – www.okhuysen.nl – Spring 2023
Gilles Ferran’s grand father, Jean-Louis Ferran, was the director of one of the largest producers in the Vaucluse. They owned 1,500 hectares of vines and the owner was also interested in land around Rasteau. At that time, Jean-Louis heard of a piece of high ground for sale in the region. But the road leading to it was barely passable, there was no water, no electricity and not even any vines. The deal fell through, but Jean-Louis asked if he could buy it for himself, and so he did. Their was nothing but a crumbling house, but the setting is breathtakingly beautiful, with a view over the valley, Mont Ventoux and the Dentelles de Montmirail.
In order to buy it, he sold his car and borrowed money. Step by step, he renovated the place and made it habitable. In 1963, his two sons, including Gilles’ father, began to plant vines. The two brothers shaped and cultivated the estate, but it is mainly Daniel, Gilles’ father, and later Gilles himself, who worked on it. In the meantime, his daughter, Madeline has also taken her place on the family estate.
Made is the face of the new generation of winegrowers and she has a clear vision of the future. A future that she sees as essentially organic. In fact, that is already how she works, but she would also like to be certified. To make elegant wines, with a pure expression of the fruit. In addition, progress in the vineyards is on her list of priorities, especially because of climate change. What does Madeline have in common with her father? A love of the job. You can’t do it without it, the days are too long and the work too hard. You only do this job because you love it. As Gilles says: “My father made wine for a living, I live to make wine.”