Originally named Val de Dieu in 1767 by the Archbishop of Avignon who blessed ".this property of vines and groves.", the land of Vaudieu has always been known as the Valley of God .
Situated just east of the village of Chateauneuf du Pape, Chateau de Vaudieu lies at the base of the plateau of Mont Redon and the property is an agglomeration of hilltops, gentle slopes and terraces and is one of the few wineries of the region that has been in constant production since the 18 th century.
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Prior to the phylloxera crisis of the late 19 th century, Vaudieu was one of only 4 wineries capable of producing more than 200 hectolitres per year (2,300 cases) and was consistently considered one of the leading producers of quality wine of the southern Rhone Valley.
When purchased by Gabriel Meffre in 1955, the property consisted of only 24 hectares of vines. Over the next 10 years, however, this tireless winemaker and grower reclaimed abandoned vineyards and cleared heavily wooded land surrounding the chateau and today the property has 70 hectares under vines, all within a radius of 450 metres of a massive 200 year old Lebanese Cedar planted at the centre of the domain.
Today, Sylvette Bréchet and her son Laurent, heirs to Gabriel Meffre and his insatiable drive for quality, have furthered upon the rapid expansion of the property with the divison of the domain into 32 separate plots, ensuring that each plot is now harvested at its optimum maturity.
Ranging from sandy beds to raised terraces strewn with the famous galets roulés (pudding stones) and calcerous hillsides, the property varies between 85 to 125 metres above sea level.
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Currently the vineyard is planted with 40 hectares of Grenache Noir, 16 of Syrah and 4 of Mouvedre (Mataro). With over 180,000 vines and an ambitious replanting programme, each plot is planned to attain its utmost potential, planted with the most appropriate variety and realigned to maximise its exposition.
The remaining 10 hectares are given over to a limited production of white wine and are planted with Roussanne (37%), Grenache blanc (29%), Clairette (18%), Bourboulenc (10%) and Picardan, an ancient and rare variety in Chateauneuf du Pape, making up the remainder.
Planted over 30 years ago, these vines are situated on a plot covered by a thin layer of blindingly white calcerous stones and consistently give a wine that is vivacious yet elegant with aromas of grilled almonds, honey and citrus fruits.
The backbone of our white wines is provided by older Grenache vines planted on a nearby, raised plateau of very clayey soil, covered by galet roulés and protected from the Mistral by a surrounding wall.
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The resultant elevated temperatures of this plot ensures that our Grenache ripens perfectly from year to year.
Our goal is to produce a crop that fully represents its origins and environment and is a true expression of the year's vintage.
To this end, and inspired by a biological approach to winegrowing, we adhere to traditional viticultural practices.
Our vines are debudded in the spring, leaves are thinned out on the eastern side of the vines to maximise contact with the rising sun and a green harvest is undertaken before the berry set to maintain a 1 to 1 ½ kilogram raisin load per vine.
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This guarantees a harvest of between 25 to 30 hectolitres per hectare.
The ergonomics of any intervention in the vineyard is a constant consideration and our winegrowing team of 10 full time professionals, each with over 20 years of experience at Vaudieu, reflects this principle of respect for our environment. |
