Domaine Duseigneur

Domaine Duseigneur is located on the West bank of the Rhône Valley, near the picturesque village of Saint-Laurent-des-Arbres, and in view of the slopes of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The 70-acre Estate straddles appelations of Côtes-du-Rhône Villages Laudun and Lirac. The Estate was founded in 1967 by Jean Duseigneur, continuing a family tradition spanning four generations.

At that time there was nothing to see except wilderness colonised by green oaks, but Jean Duseigneur immediately recognised the potential of the hilly terrain with its red clay soil to give rise to an exceptional terroir. He started developing his vineyard the way he had been taught by his ancestors, based on the knowledge that it would be the soil which would secure the long-term future of the vineyard and unique qualities of the grapes grown on that land. The fine balance of the soils unique structure and ecology, which had evolved over time, was to be maintained by only natural means. So to achieve this, Jean Duseigneur made a conscientious decision to use only the best nature had to offer, and to grow his grapes without the use of pesticides or other chemicals. This visionary philosophy, which was contrary to trends at the time, was already close to the modern biodynamic farming concept.

The unique legacy put in place by Jean 40 years ago, was handed to the care of his two sons, Bernard and Frederic in 1992. They share the same passion for the soil as their father and have continued the heritage of high quality wine making using the traditional methods developed by the family over five generations. Since 1997 the Duseigneur Estate has been meeting the requirements of organic farming. However, wanting to take this concept even further the Duseigneur brothers fully embraced biodynamic farming in 2004.

In 2004, Bernard and Frédéric Duseigneur met with Philippe Faure-Brac, 1992 World's Best Sommelier, enthusiast ambassador of the French Taste and Art de Vivre, one of the most famous and respected wine expert in the world and owner of Le Bistrot du Sommelier in Paris. For several years, Philippe had the desire to use his experience and his passion for the wine's world to create his own wine. In 2004, he is immediately attracted by the work accomplished by Jean Duseigneur in this austere landscape of the right bank of the Rhône Valley.

After 3 years of intensive collaboration, Philippe, Frédéric and Bernard have decided to put together their experience and their passion for outstanding wines by entering into a new adventure. Philippe is involved in every step of the wine making process : blending decisions, ranking of the cuvées, aging methods. Together, they are now writing the gripping and unusual story of Domaine Duseigneur.

The vineyards of the estate are planted on hillsides in a North-South orientation, enabling them to resist the relentless assaults of the Mistral wind. The wind plays a crucial part in this region. Le Mistral, which means “Master”, is hot and dry during the summer, bitterly cold during the winter, constant throughout the year, and dominates the whole lower Rhône Valley. Sudden and unpredictable, its tantrums have sculpted the area’s landscape and reshaped the flora. In this unforgiving environment, only the vine has been able to withstand the Mistral. Were it not for the unique water-holding capacity of the pebbly soils, the wind would quickly dry out the extra moisture left by the rains. It is however chiefly responsible for the exceptional levels of sunshine in the valley, which hastens the maturity of our grapes and in exceptional years, gives the berries an extraordinary concentration.

Old alluvial terraces of the Rhône, made up of red clay and pebbles on top of a layer of sand, the vineyards form "an ocean of stones, where the top soil never surfaces". In a feat of nature, the vine grows through this seemingly uncultivatable soil, the farming of which requires great belief, patience and tenacity. Such effort is not in vain, for the pebbles are a fundamental component of our terroir. They help to hold the moisture in the soil and allow the vine to overcome long periods of drought. They also preserve the most fertile surface layers of soil which would be washed away by the heavy autumn rainfall. Most importantly, the pebbles trap the heat of the sun and release it during the night, promoting the healthy growth of roots and grapes alike, thus creating a unique growth environment.