History
Several generations of Jérôme Bressy’s family had cultivated vines here but sold their grapes to the local co-operative.
The domaine’s vineyards are a ten minute drive into the hills on bumpy dirt tracks, followed by a scramble down an undergrowth-strewn slope. Jérôme Bressy’s father Yves converted to organic viticulture in 1989.
He continued selling to the local co-operative for another seven years but this step put the generations-old family enterprise onto a new trajectory. After inheriting the family holdings, Jérôme ‘founded’ the domaine in 1996, at 23 years of age.
For the first two vintages, the wines were made in an old aircraft hangar. By 1998, a purpose-built chai was in place.
The name dates back to 1635 and, in local dialect, can be translated as “an area where water flows from the soil when it rains.
The Vineyards
The 15 hectares of vines consist of 12 hectares of black grapes and three hectares of white. The estate was certified organic in 1989 (by Ecocert) and biodynamic in 2008 (by Demeter). Over two-thirds of the vines are 50-100 years old, with the rest being 10-30 years old. The very low yields of 10-15 hl/ha are partly a result of this high average vine age. Half of the vines face south-west, the other half north-west. They are pruned in the traditional gobelet method. Soils are marls, chalky-clay in composition.
Although based around red and white Grenache, many other grape varieties are used. Grenache Noir is inter-planted with Carignan, Mourvèdre, Syrah, Counoise, Cinsault, Vaccarèse and Terret Noir. White grapes include Grenache Blanc and Gris, Bourboulenc, Clairette Blanche, Picardan, Roussanne, Marsanne, Viognier and Picpoul Blanc and Gris.