Domaine Vallot
Vinsobres | Rhône Valley
Anaïs Vallot is the fifth generation to care for Domaine Vallot, an organic and biodynamic estate making dynamic and delicious wines under the Vinsobres and Côtes du Rhône appellations.
Introducing the Estate
Shifting from Convention
Domaine Vallot was founded in the early 20th century in the southern Rhône village of Vinsobres. Four generations later, François Vallot would lead a shift away from conventional viticulture toward organic and biodynamic viticulture. In 2003, the estate converted to organic farming, and by 2007 it had embraced biodynamic agriculture. In 2015, François’ daughter Anaïs returned home after a ten-year career in international luxury hospitality, and took over the winery from her father. Today, they make wine in both the Côtes du Rhône and Vinsobres appellations.
History & Origins
From Luxury to the Land
At just 18, freshly graduated from hotel management school in Grenoble and the Paris School of Concierges, Anaïs Vallot began working at the famous Georges V hotel in Paris. Over the next ten years, her career in luxury hospitality would take her to Australia, French Polynesia, the United States, and finally, a 5-star hotel on Lake Geneva, where she had been working for two years when she got the call from her father that he was thinking of selling the family winery.
Anaïs decided she couldn’t let four generations of hard work end with her father. She would return to Domaine Vallot, effectively starting from scratch at the age of 28, and work alongside François to learn the winemaker’s craft. After studies at the Wine University in Suze-la-Rousse and an internship at Château d’Yquem, she came home to Vinsobres and got to work. Today, Anaïs is a confident vigneronne and winemaker, who brings precision, elegance and character to her wines.
Geography & Geology
The Taste of the North, but in the South
Vinsobres is both a village and a Cru appellation in the southern Rhône, located about 19 miles northeast of Orange. It’s surrounded by high-altitude vineyards which run for ten kilometers on southeast-facing slopes that mark the beginning of the Alpine foothills. Soils here are rocky and rich in limestone, with patches of sandy soil interspersed. This privileged, higher-altitude position creates a mild microclimate that lengthens vines’ ripening cycle, lending Vinsobre’s wines a freshness and finesse that sets them apart from neighboring appellations. After decades as part of Côtes du Rhône AOC, red wines from Vinsobres were granted their own appellation in 2006.
Domaine Vallot farms 30 hectares of grenache, mourvèdre, syrah, cinsault, clairette, bourboulenc, and viognier, all trained in the traditional bush vine (goblet) method. Most of the vines fall under the Vinsobres appellation, with 8 hectares in the Côtes du Rhône AOC.
Process & Philisophy
Let the Terroir Talk
François was an early adopter of the organic and biodynamic movements in the southern Rhône, and began incorporating organic viticulture in the early 1990s. He obtained certification from Ecocert in the difficult 2003 vintage, which he credits as one of the reasons his wines were so fresh in a historically hot year. After many years of biodynamic farming, the domaine also became certified by Demeter in 2007.
In the winery, grapes undergo spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts in traditional cement vats. Anaïs believes that biodynamically-farmed grapes ensure healthy yeasts, which in turn yield nuanced, aromatic wines. The cement vats prevent rapid temperature changes, providing them with more control during fermentation, and help to transmit the inherent elegance and freshness in their wines. Only small amounts of sulfur are used during vinification, and none is added at bottling. There is no formula; the objective is only to create clean wines that reflect the conditions of each vintage.
Among the sea of one-note fruit bombs that emerge from the modern Rhône Valley, the wines of Domaine Vallot are a refreshing example of what can be done with a thoughtful approach to exceptional terroir.
Products
Wine
Domaine Vallot Côtes-du-Rhône 2023
