The Terroir is at the heart
of our approach
Attached to our land and our values, our desire is to produce authentic and unique wines, a reflection of our terroirs and our work.
The geographical location of our vineyard is a major strength. Our vines encompass the domain and have the particularity of being the highest hillsides of the Rasteau Appellation, around 350m. The altitude and the southeast exposure bring freshness and balance to our wines. With the nights being colder, the grape maturities are later.
We are lucky to work on a mosaic of terroirs of different and complementary nature. The famous blue marls of Rasteau, very spongy, have a great capacity to retain water and redistribute it to the vines during summer. They are ideal to cope with global warming. The Pebbles, the famous “galet roulés”, brings complexity, minerality and depth to the wines. Our sandy soils of Cairanne give the wine incomparable finesse and elegance. Finally, our small plots from the neighboring villages of Roaix and Villedieu bring their own characteristics.
These geological differences allow us to produce “cuvées parcellaires” of a great variety, in search for quality and constant balance.
A diversity of grape varieties.
Here, Grenache is king. It is a noble and historic grape variety and we particularly appreciate it. In order to express it at its best, we blend it with Syrah, Carignan and Cinsault. Our particularity is that we have very little Mourvèdre. This grape variety has late maturity so it gives us a wonderful rosé, but we do not use it in reds. Naturally, Philippe CAMBIE and my dad, Gilles FERRAN, created their own small domain, called “Calendal” in 2006. Producing one red wine made from a blend of old Grenaches and Mourvèdres, coming from the sunny terroirs of the Plan de Dieu.
Today we work with about fifteen grape varieties; this diversity, for which the region is known historically, guarantees the personality of our wines. Our whites, located on high altitude calcareous soils, have the generosity of the south paired with a great freshness and lovely bitterness.
Vine Training :
Respecting and enriching our heritage
Throughout the entire year, our activity is driven by manual work. It determines the yields and the maturation of the grapes, in other words, the quality of the grape. Pruning (from December to the end of March), disbudding (May-June), leaf thinning (July-August) and of course the grape harvest (September).
For now, the estate is conducting sustainable viticulture. In order to limit our ecological impact, we use biological products such as sulfur or copper to fight against cryptogamic diseases according to the climatic conditions, in order to ensure a healthy and high quality harvest. Interventions in the vineyard are reasoned and rare, thanks to the Mistral, a dry wind that protects us from most diseases and damage from pests (ravageurs). We plow mechanically to avoid weeding chemically.
Our vines are lined with hedges and olive trees with which we produce our olive oil. We kept the woods present historically and plant trees and shrubs around our plots in order to preserve biodiversity. Our next goal is organic farming certification. With a majority of old vines, our yields are naturally limited to 25 hl/ha. These low yields produces concentrated and complex juice.
