As we have the rare opportunity to work in such a natural setting, it is important that we not upset its harmony or balance. When you seek to develop expressive wines that show the greatest fidelity to the character of the land, we believe first and foremost that quality fruit is essential.

To support these goals, my brother Gilles, who leads most of the work in the vineyards, and myself follow the dictates of organic farming. We are not certified, but nevertheless we stick to strict guidelines, using only sulfur, copper and other natural treatments.

We plow the rows in winter, working natural compost into the soil, which we use once every three years only on our least vigorous vines. Our compost consists of one-third semi-fermented compost (grape marc and manure) and two-thirds fully fermented compost (converted into small pellets). We also manually hoe vineyard rows if it looks like the soil needs extra aeration.

When we replant Grenache vines, we prefer massal selections. Planting density on average is around 4,500 plants per hectare.

When pruning, we select six to seven canes with two productive buds on each. Removing secondary or lateral shoots helps to limit average yields to 30 hectoliters per hectare in Gigondas and 32 hectoliters per hectare in Vacqueyras and Beaumes de Venise. Canopy training, leaf thinning adapted to the vine’s age and selective trimming (in particular of the most vigorous Syrah vines) round out our work in the vineyards. Additionally, we also perform a green harvest if needed. Finally, the harvest is done by hand.