The secateurs have just been put down and cleaned! In this early part of October, the harvest is coming to an end across all our parcels in Gigondas and Côtes du Rhône. A sweet scent of fresh must now floats around the winery, marking the handover between the work in the vineyard and the work in the cellar.
In Gigondas, the end of the harvest is always a deeply emotional moment. It is the culmination of months of attentive effort in the vineyard and the official first chapter of our new vintage. Here is a look back at the highlights of this exciting harvest.
On our hillsides and terraces at the foot of the Dentelles de Montmirail, we choose a strictly tailored approach. The harvest was carried out entirely by hand, a traditional craft to which our family remains deeply attached since 1838.
Harvesting grapes by hand offers two fundamental advantages for the quality of our future wines:
Respect for the fruit: The bunches arrived at the estate perfectly intact, preventing any damage or early oxidation of the juice.
Rigorous sorting: The primary secret to a great wine lies in selection. Directly on the vine, our harvesters inspected every bunch to keep only the healthiest and ripest fruit.
Harvesting is, above all, a human adventure built on camaraderie and precision. Throughout this harvest, the same warm energy drove the team: conversations flowing from one row to the next, focus on every gesture, and the traditional snack break under the Provençal sun.
It is this love for craftsmanship and conviviality that gives our work as winemakers its true soul.
Thanks to the nighttime freshness preserved by our safre soils (these very fine marine sands) and the microclimate of the Dentelles, the grapes achieved a remarkable balance between sugar richness, aromatic concentration, and vibrant acidity.
All the vats are now full, and the first fermentations are beginning at their own pace.
Come visit us during this post-harvest period: our tasting cellar welcomes you to try our bottled cuvées while the new vintage quietly begins its life in the winery!
