DOMAINE RICHAUD
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Marcel Richaud is a titan of the natural wine world. From an early age, he knew his unsung home of Cairanne could be something special. Dropping out of high school at seventeen to take up viticulture, I’m not sure he ever doubted his abilities despite his parents’ nervousness about their son’s ambition.
He began with his Aunt’s fourteen hectares, followed by fifteen more from his father when he retired. At this point, the fifth-generation estate was farmed using the typical heavy-handed systemic chemical treatments of the era and selling their high-cropped grapes to the co-op. Marcel immediately turned to organic farming and left the co-op, making his own wines the hard way. He was only twenty, but this anarchist spirit has stuck with him for the last fifty vintages.
His first investment was building a proper cellar, somewhere tidy and ergonomic, to start coaxing his wines to life. He then purchased a few additional hectares on soil types he didn’t already have access to, including clay in the famed l’Ebrescade, completing his picture of Cairanne.
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Although he has always eschewed pesticides and herbicides, he didn’t pursue certification until 2008. He takes a ‘soil up’ approach, believing that balance (biodiversity, nutrient availability, water holding capacity, etc.) is paramount to the health of his vines and, ultimately, the quality of the finished wines. Any issue in the cellar can be traced back to an issue underground. His other cornerstones of success are old vines and low yields (often less than 25hl/ha).
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Marcel’s contributions to Natural Wine go far beyond producing delicious bottles. He helped found the AVN (Association des Vins Naturels) with equivalently instrumental producers like Pierre Overnoy, Marcel Lapierre, and Pierre Breton. Their goal was to share their vision and inspire young vignerons to follow suit, returning to the vineyards more collaboratively. He has also recommended including ingredient lists on bottles – a controversial ideology we also support. He advocated for the elevation of Cairanne from Village to Cru level in the Rhone appellation system and was instrumental in achieving that goal in 2016.
In 2016, his son Thomas returned to the winery, and Claire, his daughter, returned the year after. Knowing this illustrious estate will continue for another generation brings us great joy. Their wines are not only beloved by the natural wine world (Natural Wine by Aaron Ayscough) but are praised by conventional wine media (Jancis Robinson’s Wine Atlas). Like his companions in the AVN, he has transcended style and simply makes wines that speak to everyone.
MORE FROM THE RHÔNE VALLEY: THIBAUD CAPELLARO | MARTIN TEXIER | LA FERME DES SEPT LUNES
2024 A LA SOURCE
This entry level cuvée comes from their youngest vines, currently between three and seven years old. They’re primarily in Les Plantiers but the wine is traditionally beefed up with fruit from Les Granges and Garrigues. Yields are permitted to reach 40 hl/ha to promote a fresher profile. Grenache (60%), Syrah (15%), Counoise (15%), and Mourvèdre (10%) are destemmed into concrete for a short 8 to 10 day maceration before being pressed off back into tank for an eight month élevage. It is bottled with 15ppm of SO2. 14% ABV
2024 A LA SOURCE BLANC
This wine is a blend of Grenache Blanc (40%), Albariño (15%), Verdejo (15%), Vermentino (10%), Clairette (10%), and Bourboulenc (10%). Three plots were selected: Cros de Romet (on the plains beyond the river, young alluvial soils), Sablières (sandy soils just north of the domaine) and Ameillaud (older soils on the slope just beneath the winery). The vines are 4-7 years old, planted as an experiment to combat climate change. The grapes are crushed and cold macerated for 12 hours before an extremely gentle pressing. The juice is then fermented in stainless steel, where it rests for seven months. It is bottled with 20ppm of SO2. 13.5% ABV
2024 ROSÉ
This wine comes from three plots around the village: Cros de Romet (on the plains beyond the river, young alluvial soils), Garrigues (super rocky on the border of Rasteau) and Ameillaud (older soils on the slope just beneath the winery). They selected parcels within these sites with more limestone and clay. The vines average ten years old. It is made from Cinsault (80%), Albariño (10%), and Verdejo (10%). The grapes are crushed and undergo a seven-hour cold maceration before fermentation between 18-24º. After a short élevage in stainless steel, the wine is bottled.
ESTIMATED RETAIL PRICE: $38.00 (BC)
CSPC: 638245 (BC)
2024 BULBILLE
Claire spearheaded this cuvée in 2019, wanting to make a lighter vin de soif that still has the personality of Cairanne. The bulk of the grapes come from Marie Richaud’s sandy plots, La Canarde and Sousville, under the village. It is a blend of Counoise (55%), Cinsault (30%), and Grenache (15%). The grapes were harvested early and underwent a whole-cluster carbonic co-ferment in concrete vats. Temperatures are kept under 20º to preserve aromatics and acidity. After a week, the wine is pressed off for an eight month élevage in concrete. It is bottled unfined, unfiltered, and without SO2. 12.5% ABV
ESTIMATED RETAIL PRICE: $33.00 (AB), $39.00 (BC)
CSPC: 884500 (AB), 369309 (BC)
2024 TERRE D’AIGLES
This cuvée comes from several plots beneath the winery near the river, mostly from the lieu dit of Les Granges, Beauchières, Charpier, and la Meyeau; The proximity to water is very helpful for dry farming in an arid region. It is almost entirely flat so they use a larger, draping canopy to protect against sun and heat damage. The 70-year-old bush vines were the first farmed by Marcel fifty years ago and are conveniently across the street from their original cellar. The soils here are finer silt and sand but include some clay resulting in an earlier drinking cuvée. It is comprised of Grenache (55%), Carignan (25%), Syrah (10%), Mourvèdre (5%), and Counoise (5%). The grapes are fermented on skins (Carignan and Counoise as whole clusters) for 8 to 12 days before being pressed back into concrete for and eight month élevage. 15ppm of SO2 is added at bottling. 14.5% ABV
2023 TERRE DE GALETS
This wine is made from Carignan (30%), Grenache (20%), Syrah (20%), Counoise (20%), and Mourvèdre (10%). The grapes come from four plots: Garrigues, Carré, Canarde, and Truffière. Soils are red clay punctuated by large stones, some as big as bowling balls. The thirty-year-old vines cook in this scorching and arid site, unprotected from the elements. The grapes are mostly destemmed, although the Carignan is typically fermented whole-cluster. After a short maceration and limited remontage, the wine is pressed off for an eight-month élevage in concrete. The wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered with 15 ppm of SO2. 14.5% ABV
2023 CAIRANNE ROUGE
Their flagship wine comes from their best plots in Cairanne: Chantal, les Garrigues, les Combes, les Partides, la Ridel, and les Bayes. The vines are 40-70 years old and are partially perched on terraces above the village. These stony vineyards only yielded 25hl/ha in 2023. It is a blend of Mourvèdre (40%), Grenache (25%), Syrah (25%), Carignan (5%), and Counoise (5%). All but the Carignan and Counoise are destemmed for fermentation in concrete for roughly two weeks. The wine is then pressed into a combination of foudre (10%), demi-muids (30%), and concrete (60%). The wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered with 15 ppm of SO2. 15% ABV
2024 CAIRANNE BLANC
This wine is grown in a variety of lieu dits around Cairanne: Les Sablières (sandy soils near the river), Le Cros du Romet (extremely rocky soils beneath the village), Les Douyes, La Clavelle Bas, La Ridel, and La Combe d’Henry Nord (working their way up the mountain to ~300m on ancient iron rich marls). Vine age is between twenty and forty years old. This year’s blend is Grenache Blanc (30%), Roussanne (30%), Clairette 20%), Bourboulenc (15%), and Viognier (5%). The grapes are crushed and macerated on skins for 12 hours before an incredibly long and gentle pressing. The juice is fermented in concrete at cold temperatures for a month before being racked into concrete for seven months. The varieties are blended shortly before bottling, receiving a judicious 15 ppm of SO2.
2022 CAIRANNE L’EBRESCADE
Their most limited wine comes from a handful of plots high above Cairanne on the hill of Ventabren hovering around 325m. The climate feels distinctly different, windy, exposed, almost alpine. Soils are an extremely nutrient poor combination of marls and calcareous stones. Very little grows out of the rocks and this vintage saw a meagre 12 hl/ha yield. The Mourvèdre (45%) and Grenache (15%) comes from forty year old vines, while the Syrah (40%) is 80. All these factors allow them to harvest at maximum ripeness without losing freshness. The grapes are destemmed and fermented in tank at cool temperatures for a few weeks before being pressed off into neutral demi-muids and foudre for two years of élevage. It is bottled unfined, unfiltered, and with 15ppm of SO2. 15% ABV
