Grenache

Domaine Jean David is a small domaine in Séguret of Côtes du Rhône. When Jean David first turned his hands towards being a vigneron, he spoke to his father about the benefits of organic faming. His father, however, wasn't so sure, but after some persuasion he allowed Jean David to have 5 of his 17ha as a test patch. That was in the 1970's, and the rest is history. Jean David's father permitted him more and more hectares until the entire domain was certified organic by Ecocert ('87), allowing Jean David the freedom to progress with his philosophy.

In the hills of Avignon, around the village of St Remy de Provence that was once famously frequented by Van Gogh, lives another kind of protégé. Henri Milan has more or less been a vigneron since birth, planting his first vine at the age of 8 and taking over from his father in 1986. His work in the vineyard shows his complete respect for nature and terroir: practicing biodynamics on the land and being the first in his family to decide to vinify the parcels separately, revealing their outstanding individual potential.

In 1993, Philippe de Roy du Bliquy, an advertising mogul from Paris, was on the hunt for some vineyards and stumbled upon the then run-down Domaine de Villeneuve in the northern corner of Chateauneuf-du-Pape close to Chateau de Beaucastel. Together with a good friend, Stanislas Wallut and their families, they began restoring the 8.5ha, using biodynamic practices to heal the vines which are now certified Biodynamic by Ecocert. Only a small amount of vines had to be replanted, which means that nearly all of the vines are now between 30-100 years old.

British born Jo Jefferies moved out to Languedoc to help out his dad with some construction work many moons ago. Naturally, he fell in love and decided to stay, later establishing Domaine Bories-Jefferies from vines that used to belong to his in-laws. The vineyard lies on volcanic soils which adds freshness and crazy-good minerality in the finished wines. Inspired by his friends Bernard Bellahsen and Rémi Pujol, Jo describes his wines as home made. He says if you were making a cake at home would you add additives, chemicals? Of course not.

Château de Roquefort has passed hands many times since it was built, now under ownership by Raimond de Villeneuve. The history of the château has a rich agricultural past, and was also involved with the old silk worm production. Today, winemaking is the primary focus. The 25 ha of vineyard are located on the edge of Bandol in a sort of amphitheater on clay and limestone. This affords the vines their own microclimate, and grapes are slow to ripen at the altitude of 1000ft. Raimond plants the usual Provencial suspects along with brave recent plantings of Cabernet Franc for kicks.

Just North-East of Beziers, Domaine Julien Peyras is making some truly fantastic wines. As a member of S.A.I.N.S (the zero everything crew), he is comitted to making wines with minimal intervention as his nieghbour and mentor Bernard Bellahsen has done for decades. Farming 8ha of hillside terraced vineyard on clay-limestone, Julien farms Languedoc-Rousillon favourites Cinsault, Carignan, Grenache, Clairette, Syrah, Grenache blanc and Roussane all from 40+ year old vines.

From Bee Keeper to influential vigneron, Eric Pfifferling lives a life as close to nature as any. His work demonstrates energy, life and precise craftsmanship. Eric inherited 4ha of ancient vines from his grandmother in Southern Rhone's Tavel in 1988, later adding 3ha in Lirac. The soils are rich with gallets, identical to those found in neighbouring Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Initially Eric sold off his fruit to the local cooperative in Tavel, before deciding to making his own wine. After many trials, his first proper vintage was 2002. In the cellar, Eric is unique.

Alain Allier makes his wine in a small garage close to the Mouressipe mountains, the very same which used to be a vital lookout for the Romans; they probably even planted the vines. The vineyard covers 9ha in total of Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache Noir, Cinsault, Chardonnay and Chasselas on a limestone base with clay and blue marl. Alain only vinifies the fruit from 4 ha himself, offering the rest to the local coop. Alain's philosophy is simple: the more you do in the vineyard to create healthy, balanced fruit, the less you need to do in the winery.

Vigneron extraordinaire Axel Prüfer was born in East Germany, but as a young man he moved to Languedoc to start making wine. Axel met Eric Pfifferling early on which helped set his course for the kind of wine he wanted to make. In 2003 he established Domaine Les Temps de Cerises which refers to an old Parisian song from the Revolution. Axel's vineyards are buzzing with life: insects, herbs, flowers, weeds. Wild boar roam in the nearby forests and Axel uses human hair collected from the local hairdressers to distract them from eating all his grapes. Yields are super low.

Bernard Bellahsen believes in capturing the essence of a vintage each time he makes a wine. As the ring leader in organic and biodynamic practices in the Languedoc (certified Biodynamic in the 80's), Bernard has not only won the respect of his peers, he has sparked an interest in other aspiring vignerons for making real wines in Languedoc. When Bernard isn't making wine, you can find him looking after his bees and makes and selling his homemade bread at the local market at weekends. Today Bernard also produce Gin destilled on wine.