Domaine des Garriguettes
Côtes du Rhône ‘Le Béret Bleu’ 2023
Domaine des Garriguettes Côtes du Rhône ‘Le Béret Bleu’ 2023
In France’s Southern Rhône Valley, just 12 kilometers east of Avignon, lies Domaine des Garriguettes, a four-generation family winery, in the village of Châteauneuf de Gadagne. Sébastien Clément is a young vigneron handcrafting innovative and fresh expressions that honor the traditions of his Provençal village. The domaine utilizes strictly natural and regenerative farming practices and produces Demeter-certified biodynamic wines from old vines. Made without the use of chemicals or additives, Garriguettes offers wines of exceptional freshness, elegance, and ultimate drinkability; a revelation in southern France.
Domaine des Garriguettes benefits from the idyllic Mediterranean climate and exposure to the warm southern Mistral wind, both of which provide optimal conditions for organic and biodynamic viticulture. Old olive trees cohabitate among cinsault, grenache, mourvèdre, and syrah vines on the property, many of which have been in the family for generations. Garriguettes was the first vineyard in their village to embrace organic agriculture and continues to be a natural winemaking leader in the region.
In the cellar, Sébastien works in an intuitive manner with the least amount of intervention possible. Every vineyard and cuvée is handled individually; the only formula at the winery is excellence. Indigenous yeasts are used for alcoholic fermentation for the entirety of the cuvées, and malolactic fermentations are spontaneous and never rushed. Added sulfur dioxide is not used in the Le Béret Bleu, and only minimally in the other wines. There is no dogma about sulfur, other than Sébastien endeavors to make the very best, most expressive wine possible, with or without sulfur.
The production of the winery leads off with Le Béret Bleu Côtes du Rhône Rouge, an unbelievably juicy and fresh small-production wine from 100% cinsault, vinified in a cement tank. The label features an illustration of Sébastien’s grandfather, Jean Clément, as a tribute to the easy-going nature and Provençal spirit of the wines his grandfather made. Without a doubt, Le Béret Bleu is one of the most surprisingly delicious glou-glou wines from the Côtes du Rhône discipline. The wine is just plain fun to drink and we just cannot get enough of this small-production wonder.
Vinification – Whole bunches are handpicked, destemmed, and crushed. Spontaneous alcoholic fermentation with indigenous yeasts in cement tanks, short 15 day maceration of the cap, followed by spontaneous malolactic fermentation in cement tanks. Aging is six months in 20% used (average six years old) French oak demi-muid and 80% in concrete vats. Fined and unfiltered.