Wednesday, 6 March 2013

Chene Bleu


Chene Bleu is a range of wines produced by Domaine de La Verriere in Southern Rhone. The property dates back to the ninth century when there was a priory on the site, and the name of the estate changed to La Verriere, when Aliot de Montvin established a glass-blowing workshop there in 1427. Due to inheritance disputes, the property was abandoned and the house became derelict when it was purchased by the present owners in the mid 1990s. The house was rebuilt and the vineyards were also subjected to careful restoration.

The new owners set about making the best wine they could from the vines and the vineyards. Tended by biodynamic principles and building a state of the art winery, the estate produced their first vintage in 2006. Although the property was at the confluence of a 4 appellations just outside Gigondas, the estate felt the AOC system would place unacceptable restrictions on their pursuit of producing the best wine possible, so they opted to produce Vin de Pays de Vaucluse. As for Chene Bleu, it was named after a magnificent oak that used to tower over the vineyard and priory buildings. It suffered in the drought of 2005 and a tree sculptor painted it with the blue Bordeaux mixture.


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