Family winery in Côtes du Rhône, which practices Biodynamic viticulture.
Family winery in Côtes du Rhône, which practices Biodynamic viticulture.
I am particularly fond of the grape variety Grenache, which produces round, generous wines. I have spent nearly three decades wholeheartedly committed to the family estate of Château Mourgues du Grès in the AOC* Costières de Nîmes wine area.
I decided to broaden my horizons and travelled up the River Rhône in search of a neighboring vineyard, with a complementary expression.
My excursion led me as far as the vines in the AOC Côtes du Rhône Villages wine area, in the village of Comps, in the southernmost part of the Côtes du Rhône region. Located where the Rhône and Gardon rivers meet, this leafy green oasis has all the ingredients for Grenache to express itself fully.
*AOC means that wines from the eponymous region are protected by a ‘controlled designation of origin’.
I made my way up the Rhône from Beaucaire as far as the village of Comps.
In the eighteenth century, Cassini charted the wild and spirited course of the Rhône which had shaped the impressive terraces of pebbles for millennia.
This map thus illustrates a journey through space and time. It gives an idea of the link between land and water. It tells the tale of this terroir and its landscape, of the ties nurtured by the local communities with their river.
From the Aiguille hill, the historical territory of Terre d’Argence unfolds before you.
Terre d’Argence extended from the confluence of the Rhône and Gardon rivers as far as the delta of the Rhône, Camargue, nearby. Its territory harbors a centuries-old heritage – with its attachment to the Bishopric of Arles from 800 to 1800 – of fertile croplands which shimmer with silvery highlights in the sunshine.
My vines flourish on the very hillsides overlooking this confluence. Beyond their value in agronomic and cultural terms, the vines are also a visually defining feature of the landscape. They bear the identity and soul of a place. It is this multi-faceted heritage that I wish to express in my wines.
Côtes du Rhône Villages
Depth of flavor from the old vines in Côtes du Rhône Villages
Biodynamic agriculture sometimes raises questions about its practices, origins and effectiveness. Find out how I integrate this approach into the treatment of my Côtes du Rhône and Côtes du Rhône Villages vines, and how it contributes to the quality of my wines.
4025 Chem. de la Fontaine du Roy,
30300 Beaucaire
+33 (0) 466 59 46 10
contact@annecollard.fr