Château de la Gardine, Rhône, France

CHÂTEAU DE LA GARDINE: "A WINEMAKER MUST BE HONEST, PATIENT AND LOYAL"
- Patrick Brunel-

The Château de la Gardine winery has been in the Brunel family for generations. The worldwide reputation of Château de la Gardine is based on the terroir-typical Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines . Year after year, these score high marks in the international wine press. Other properties include: Château Saint Roch in Lirac (see menu) and the Brunel de la Gardine label. Brunel de La Gardine includes various regional wines, including: Côtes du Rhône Villages, Cairanne, Crozes-Hermitage, Gigondas.
The Brunel family 's winemaking tradition dates back to the 17th century. The famous winemaker Gaston Brunel acquired Château de la Gardine in Châteauneuf du Pape in 1945. Today, the estate is run by Patrick and Maxime, his two sons, together with their wives, Eve and Maryse, who are also valuable contributors to the production of the wines. Their daughter Marie-Odile and son Philippe are also active on the estate. The estate now occupies 20 hectares of vineyards, (of which 48 hectares are devoted to red wines and 4 hectares to white wines), and a total of 20 hectares of forest area. This is all part of their property. Château de la Gardine is famous for the quality of its wines and for the unique 'Gardine' bottle shape . The wines are now exported to as many as 30 different countries.

Château de la Gardine invested a few years ago in the purchase of several attractively situated vineyards in the northern and southern Rhône. These wines are marketed under the name Brunel de la Gardine. The wines, including Crozes-Hermitage and Hermitage, can be found in the menu under Brunel de la Gardine.

ROOTS IN THE RHÔNE

In 1998, the Brunel family also bought a piece of vineyard around the Château Saint Roch in the 'Roquemaure' area, of no less than 40 hectares. Saint Roch is managed by Eve Brunel, as an oenologist she runs both Saint Roch and La Gardine. The total 40 hectares of vineyard are now owned by the Brunel brothers in the Rhône. The wine region Vallée du Rhône is approximately 200 kilometers long. The wine growing along the banks of the Rhône between Vienne and Avignon is more than two thousand years old. The Rhône Valley has traditionally been an excellent connecting route. The wine growers chose the joint name Côtes du Rhône early on. This choice was very important for the brand recognition and for the awarding of the AOP Côtes du Rhône in 1937. Since then, the Rhône area has grown into the second French AOP wine region.

The climate in the northern part is continental and has warm to hot summers and severe winters. The mistral, a cold wind current from the north, contributes to the specific microclimate. The southern part of the Rhône has a milder climate , with warm to hot summers and mild winters. The influence of the Mediterranean Sea is already noticeable here. The main grape in this area is the Grenache. Furthermore, the Syrah is also found here together with Cinsault, Carignan and Mourvèdre. For white, the most important grape varieties are Grenache Blanc, Bourboulenc, Clairette, Marsanne, Rousanne and Viognier.

DEEP IN THE ROCKS

For the red Cuvée of Château de la Gardine the main varieties are Grenache Noir, Syrah and Mourvèdre . The percentages vary annually, depending on the vintage. The main grape in the composition is Grenache Noir.
The cellars of Château de la Gardine are dug deep into the rocks . Here are 500 liter oak barrels in which a large part of the wine is matured. A small percentage is matured in smaller barriques, after which the final blend takes place.