Vacqueyras, wines of character

Located between the better known vineyards of Gigondas and Beaumes-de-Venise, the AOC Vacqueyras is fighting for better recognition.
Jacky Bernard, president of the appellation brotherhood, has “faith in the collective. We all have the same ambition, namely to bring AOC wines to the top. Vacqueyras are sunny wines and you have to pay attention to their power. But they are also elegant wines. For several years, our appellation has been selected to supply the official cuvée of the Avignon Festival”.

Jacky Bernard handed over to his son Philippe and his wife Elizabeth. Under their leadership, the Ligière estate, made up of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre aged at least 50 years, was certified organic. In 2008, Philippe and Élizabeth built their own cellar to vinify their own wine instead of delivering the grapes to the cooperative and thus follow through on their quality approach.

The Mediterranean climate, dry and windy (here we do not complain about the mistral), is characterized by a summer drought, favorable to the ripening of the berries. The autumn and spring rains supply the grapes with enough water.
The vineyard, planted mainly with Grenache, extends over 1,400 ha around Vacqueyras and Sarrains.

If the Grenache

is the majority in the cuvées, it is always blended with Syrah

and Mourvèdre. Other grape varieties from the Rhone Valley can enter up to 10% in the blends of reds which represent approximately 95% of production. They are ample and complex wines, with a fruity nose (black cherry, very ripe) evolving on spicy notes.
The whites are of a beautiful finesse with a pretty floral nose.
This is what we were able to observe during a fine tasting in the company of Jacky Bernard, president of the Vacqueyras appellation, and vice-president Marie-Thérèse Combes of the Domaine de la Fourmone.

The particularity of the appellation is its subsoil. The Dentelles were formed during a sliding of two tectonic plates (the Nîmes fault) which caused a geological originality: a cold volcano. “It's a bit like a tarte tatin, explain the winegrowers. The soil from the depths found itself on the surface, forming a terroir of incredible diversity with sands and sandstones from the Tertiary era, limestones and marls from the Jurassic and Cretaceous. Thanks to this underground mosaic, we can produce a fine range of cuvées from the same grape variety, with great minerality and complexity”.

The brotherhood of the appellation also ensures the maintenance of traditions. During our visit, on the eve of the harvest, she invited us to the harvest ban mass.

A celebration in all simplicity, in the open air, with the Dentelles de Montmirail as a backdrop. On the altar, a basket filled with bunches of grapes. The priest emphasized that bread and wine are the work of man's work and blessed the tools of the grape pickers. Several winegrowers had come with their tractors to ask for the blessing.

 After the spiritual celebration, the Brotherhood invited everyone to another, more down-to-earth celebration, that of sharing a glass of friendship. The merry lads of the Bullfighting Pena of St-Etienne sur Gres led everyone to the courtyard of the castle (well, what's left of it).

It's a pity that more villagers didn't come, it was an excellent opportunity to taste different cuvées but also to party.