Domaine SAINT-JEAN du BARROUX

Domaine Saint-Jean Du Barroux - VignArtea

VENTOUX    12 ha    ORGANIC FARMING    WINEMAKER : Philippe GIMEL


ESTATE HISTORY


It is in 2003 that Philippe GIMEL settled down in the Vaucluse, in the Saint-Jean du Barroux vineyard of 12 ha he just bought. The grapes grown there were only intended for resale to local cooperatives: there were no infrastructure to produce wine, everything had to be built. A tremendoux job that would have scared off one or more winemaker , but Philippe braved these material considerations : he was aware that the vineyard, hanging on the Mont Ventoux gentle slopes , is on exceptional and so varied soils that one can find up to six different geological layers of rocks.

As a real jewel of exceptional biodiversity, Saint-Jean du Barroux offers a landscape of vines mixed with a rich flora of aromatic herbs and fruit trees, protected by many hedges and other shrubs. The really low productivity of the vines protects them from mildew and powdery mildew which attacks are rarer than elsewhere. Champion of "clean" and healthy wines, Philippe Gimel converted from the beginning to organic farming, which he obtained the certification 3 years after. All his attention is focused on the grapes, this raw material that must be perfect and that he can then sublimate without artifice.(for more information, you can read the article we dedicated to him here).

The wines thus produced are the purest reflection of the terroir, where only grapes and stalks, in a clever mix, give the juice a silky texture and a richness unlike any other.



TERROIR


The vines are spread over different plots where the soils variety make it possible to obtain wines bearing their signature.

These soils, made of marine or continental sedimentary rocks, trace the region evolution over 170 million years.

From the earth origin to the Upper Cretaceous end (-65 m.y.a), the region was entirely submerged. The currents and the bathymetric variations associated with the tectonic movements had a direct impact on the different geological layers nature.

During the Middle Jurassic, between -170 and -164 m.y, a thick dark schist marl layer formed in deep seabed. At the Oxfordian, between -161 and -155 m.y, these black marls enrich themselves with limestone and testify to a modification of the waters depth. During the entire Lower Cretaceous period (-145 to -99 m.y), the basin gradually fills with marly-limestone sedimentation. At the very beginning of the Paleocene, -65 m.y.a, the whole region emerged and the sedimentation became continental.

A particular event (the "Suzette diapir") took place in the Eocene (between -55 and -33 m.y) causing the raising of a very deep geological layer dating from the Triassic period (-251 to -199 m.y) and made of salt and gypsum. At the Oligocene, between -33 and -23 m.y, the climate is sub-tropical and the relatively dry seasons favor the deposition offluvial sediments, clays, carbonates and evaporites. At the very beginning of the Miocene, between -23 and -15 m.y, the region undergoes a new marine transgression favoring carbonate deposits, before emerging again and definitively towards the end of the Miocene 5 m.y.a.



WINEGROWING & WINEMAKING


Each wine expresses a terroir sublimated by the Philippe GIMEL winemaker talent. The wine names are not chosen at random, they precisely define the place where they are from : LA SOURCE is a cuvée from a place where there are many water sources irrigating the area, L'ARGILE takes its name from the rocky substance that mainly makes up the region soils and whose water retention capacity makes it a high quality terroir for the vine. Finally, LA PIERRE NOIRE evokes both its soil and its grape : planted on a black rock in extremely poor soil, the vines only produce very small and concentrated berries of dark colored skin.

The grapes are grown according to the principles of organic farming and are certified by Ecocert. They are harvested manually and according to their maturity degree : sorting is done in the vineyard.

To give elegance and richness to his wines, Philippe GIMEL also uses the grapes stems which he adds to the must during fermentation : to do so, the grapes are destemmed, the stalks are set aside and then carefully sorted. Only the most ripe stems are added to the grapes in increasing proportion according to the cuvée : no stem is added for LA SOURCE , 25% of the stems are added for L'ARGILE , and 90% of the stems are added for LA PIERRE NOIRE.

After fermentation, the musts are aged in stainless steel tanks, including a small proportion in oak barrels of several wines, so that the container does not mark the juice. The wines are never fined, but just filtered before bottling.

The cork stopper used is of the Diam® brand, type 10 (for a 10 years ageing) or 20 (for a 20 years ageing): these corks are guaranteed without TCA, thus eliminating any risk of cork taste.


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