Our estate is part of the Vallée du Rhône winegrowing region. Planted on the property of our Hotel Coquillade, the vineyards are primarily situated within AOC Ventoux in the Luberon regional nature preserve, a UN biosphere reservation since 1990. It is a place of cold nights, hot days, solid ground, gentle light, and the purest scents of nature.
We love this unspoiled land and nature's ability to create such unforgettable landscapes, especially Mont Ventoux. This tableau is full of challenges, which we accept as part of our mission: laying the foundation for a promising viticultural future.
The grapevine is a powerful plant, capable of digging its roots deep into the soil. This is no simple matter in Luberon, where the soils are stony and barren. To help young seedlings with their work, we treat them with a mix of clay and mycorrhiza prior to planting so that the vines can enter into symbiosis with the fungus. Simply put: The vine feeds the fungus, while the fungus uses its root-like growth to provide the vine with water and nutrients. The fungal roots essentially enlarge the vine’s overall root volume, which during the hot and dry summer months can represent a major boost in quality. This natural win/win situation allows for a deeper expression of terroir in the wine.
The rootstock serves as the critical bridge between soil and scion. Its individual characteristics determine the vine's growth power, which is why we match our rootstock with extreme care to a site’s exact soil conditions, in an effort to promote greater balance. Too much vigor leads to heightened and extended growth phases in the fruit. This in turn leads to an undesirable delay in physiological ripeness and susceptibility to disease.
Not all grapevines are alike. Based on the local conditions, which are often anything but simple, our strategy calls for new plantings to be sourced from vines raised using mass selection instead of classical cloning. These hail from the “mother garden” and, thanks to their genetic variability, can adjust more effectively and individually to the site-specific growth conditions. Beyond this, they also deliver significantly smaller berries and lower yields, which very much plays to our philosophy. The coloration and tannins are outstanding
A majority of our vineyards belong to AOP VENTOUX, which means that yields are regulated to a maximum of 50 hectoliters per hectare. We have mixed feelings about this. Without a doubt, reduced yields can promote concentration and with it higher quality in the wine. Yet we also know that it tends to make the berries larger and raises the potential alcohol content of the grapes. At Domaine de la Coquillade, we seek to make wines with moderate alcohol levels. This comes in part from our conviction that, in an age of climate change, moderate alcohol levels make our wines all the more enjoyable.
Yet beyond this, we have a societal responsibility to promote moderate wine consumption. This is why we've pursued our own paths to achieve the desired fruit, finesse, and minerality in our wines. In years that are sunny and hot early on, we consciously opt for yields above 50 hl/ha to slow the ripening process in the grapes and keep alcohol levels low. In these cases, the AOP rules require us to reclassify those wines as IGP MÉDITERRANÉE. One can reasonably wonder whether the existing AOP rules are still current, given that they also ban the fungus-resistant varieties that represent a potentially crucial future role for viticulture and the region.
Harvest, after all, typically occurs under warm daytime temperatures. Color nuances also play an important role when it comes to rosé. Reason enough to forego the use of harvest machines, even if they would spare a great deal of labor. The “small box harvests” also allow us to refrigerate the grapes overnight in cool containers, an incalculable boon to improving quality: no distracting tannins, no problems with color or oxidation that then require correction in the subsequent must or wine.
The hand harvest at the end of each growth cycle is another important cornerstone in flawlessly conveying the grape quality achieved in the vineyard into the cellar. Our team laboriously checks each individual grape, selecting only fruit that has achieved the optimal degree of ripeness. Damaged or moldy berries are categorically removed. This ensures that we retain the grapes’ natural aroma and taste potential—our key to top quality.
