Domaine du Séminaire 2022 Côtes-du-Rhône

80% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 10% Carignan

FARMING  Certified Organic

SOIL  Clay, limestone 

VINEYARDS & VITICULTURE  The property is surrounded by olive and truffle oak trees, lavender fields and thick forest. The vineyards are near the northern limit of ripening Grenache, in the colder foothills of the Alps, where they are swept by the strong mistral winds. Grenache was planted in the early 1980s-2003, Syrah planted from the 1980s-2010, Carignan planted in the 1960s.

HARVEST & VINIFICATION  Grapes are destemmed, with fermentation and elevage occurring in concrete vats with native yeasts and very light filtration.

ALCOHOL BY VOLUME  14.0

Domaine du Séminaire lies tucked into the hills of Valréas, an idyllic property that offers a snapshot of a long-ago time.

The 100 hectares are planted to olive and oak trees, lavender, and forest as well as vine, making this a hot-spot of biodiversity.

In the foothills of the Alps, this terroir represents the northern reaches of where Grenache can successfully ripen, walking the tightrope between full ripeness and bright acids.

Hervé and Mathilde Pouizin are the fourth generation to tend these vines, and keep viticulture and vinification traditional. Their main “modernization” has been to convert all the vineyards to organic farming.

It's a labor of love to make these Côtes-du-Rhônes and they are exceptional examples of what this striking terroir can bring.