Mighty oaks from little acorns grow: Chêne Bleu Super Rhône Wines

We were delighted to welcome back our friends, Chêne Bleu at this year’s Clementine Showcase. Not only are they expert crafters of beautifully-textured wines from rugged, windswept, sun-bathed soils – they are also valiant educators of the fermented grape…

Built as a medieval priory in the ninth century, restoration of the estate latterly known as La Verrière was began by Xavier Rolet in 1993 – when it was finally released from the tangle of over four decades of an inheritance feud. Chêne Bleu released its first commercial vintage in 2006.

Known as the estate’s “Mrs Fix-It”, viticulturist, Bénédicte Gallucci takes a biodynamically-inclined approach to tending vines, applying natural fertiliser downed by organically-managed sheep which winter in the vineyards, and treatments of bee propolis gleaned from the estate’s own bee colony. She says: “I need to know each vine as well as I know our children, and treat each one as an individual.” Meanwhile, her winemaker husband, Jean-Louis prefers to bottle on supposedly propitious flower and fruit days. The latter occurs in the purpose-built four-level winery sunk into rock. According to estate owners, French-born Xavier Rolet and his American wife, Nicole Sierra-Rolet (they met through mutual friends at a wedding in France) the ensuing solid subterranean surround circumnavigates the need for a Faradic cage, which might otherwise have adversely affected the wine.

Wines benefit from vines’ notably high altitude (up to 1,600ft) and their sheltered location within the reserve of Mount Ventoux at the boundary of Gigondas, Seguret and Côtes du Ventoux, The estate’s symbol is inspired by a bare oak, “rehabilitated” in death by local sculptor, Marc Nucera, and protected from rot each year with distinctive blue Bordeaux mixture.

The estate offers what Nicole Rolet terms an “extreme” residential wine course, uniting “prestigious wines of the auction-house courses, the rigorous approach of the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET), and the fun of friendly tasting events.” These luxurious escapes range from five-day full-immersion experiences, working towards the WSET Intermediate certificate (next one occurring 7-13 May) to WSET Advanced (18-24 June). Tuition is provided by British MW, Clive Barlow. Participants have travelled from England, France, China, Brazil, Tunisia, Switzerland, Costa Rica, Australia, Germany, Ireland, Hungary and the USA.

In June 2010, the property played host to an international Grenache symposium. On account of there being attendees from 21 countries, the “G-21 Summit” on the world’s most widely-planted red grape was sponsored by Inter-Rhone, Riedel, Wine Academy of Spain and Harpers Wine & Spirit.