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The Grenache at Château de la Gardine :
An art of pure expression
"Being a winegrower means knowing how to be honest, patient, adaptable and loyal."
This philosophy, expressed by Patrick Brunel, co-manager of Château de la Gardine with his brother Maxime, perfectly sums up the estate's approach to working with Grenache, the emblematic grape variety of Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
An ideal terroir
In the prestigious landscape of this appellation, Château de la Gardine cultivates 54 hectares with an approach that Patrick Brunel describes as ‘minimalist’.
"Nestling in a setting formed from east to west by terraces of rolled quartz pebbles mixed with red clay, Miocene marl and clay and Quaternary limestone", Grenache finds optimum conditions here to reveal all its complexity.
"The purest, unvarnished expression of the terroir of origin, the nobility of the raw material and the vintage: this is the challenge that all the members of the Brunel family set themselves every year."
This philosophy, which has been handed down through four generations, is reflected in our respectful winemaking methods:
- Harvesting by hand in small crates
- Rigorous sorting of the grapes
- Blending of grape varieties before fermentation
- Patient ageing in vats and oak barrels
The expressions of Grenache
At Château de la Gardine, Grenache is expressed in four distinct cuvées, each revealing a different facet of this emblematic grape variety.
Patrick Brunel guides us through these different expressions:
The Tradition
A blend made up of 60% grenache, 20% syrah, 15% mourvèdre and 5% muscardin
- A deep purple colour with hints of violet
- An expressive nose of black fruits, exotic spices and roasted coffee
- Silky tanins in the mouth
- Aged in vats and wooden barrels of 2 to 6 wines
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The Génération Gaston-Philippe
A tribute to the patriarches of the family, this prestigious cuvée is ‘produced from small yields of the oldest vines, from carefully selected and sorted grapes’. A well-balanced blend (1/3 grenache, 1/3 syrah, 1/3 mourvèdre), it is distinguished by :
- An inky purple colour heralding great density
- A mineral nose of blackcurrant and roasted walnut, with hints of toasted new oak
- Remarkably pure and rich on the palate Aged 12 months in new French oak barrels.
The Immortelle
"The best of our know-how and our terroirs’" this exceptional cuvée offers :
- A deep, racy purple with purplish highlights
- An open, generous nose, an explosion of red and black berries
- Intense and complex on the palate, with an extremely long finish As Robert Parker notes: "An elegance bordering on perfection... so richly extracted that it is reminiscent of a port wine’"
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The Peur Bleue
An innovation of the estate, this cuvée with no added sulphites represents, for Patrick Brunel, "the freest and purest expression of Châteauneuf-du-Pape". It offers :
- An explosion of stewed red fruit
- Perfect balance
- An interminable, opulent and finely spiced finish.
Each cuvée benefits from a specific vinification process, but all share the same philosophy: "the purest, unvarnished expression of the terroir of origin".
The difference lies in the selection of plots, the blending and ageing, allowing the Grenache to express all its nuances.
‘The ageing potential varies from vintage to vintage,’ explains Patrick Brunel, “from 5-7 years for Peur Bleue to 15-20 years for Immortelle”, demonstrating Grenache's ability to stand the test of time while retaining its nobility.
Responsible wine-growing
Faced with the challenges of climate change, the estate has adopted a proactive approach:
- Conservation of 20 hectares of woodland as a thermal regulator
- Practising minimalist interventionism
- Vineyard management based on long-term modelling
- Reduced use of inputs
Château de la Gardine is aware of the climate challenges and continues to adapt its practices while preserving the essence of its terroir. The Brunel family, with its centuries of experience, maintains a subtle balance between tradition and innovation, allowing the Grenache to express the best of this exceptional terroir year after year.
This meticulous, respectful approach has enabled the estate to establish itself as a benchmark, with around 70% of its production exported to some thirty countries, testifying to the international recognition of the quality of its wines.
