Our Haute Couture Range

The Wines in a Nutshell

Chêne Bleu focuses on handmade wines of the utmost natural purity.  We call them “couture” wines to reflect our philosophy of extreme dedication, atypical mineral soils, biodynamic practices, low yields and handpicking, through to double sorting in the winery and non-intrusive forward-thinking winemaking.  We believe that this extreme approach to winemaking combines the best elements of tradition, respect for nature, and qualitative practices.  These costly processes are exacting and time-consuming, but we consider them essential to ensuring a bespoke wine of the highest quality. 

Chene Bleu Wine

The Style

The Grenache/Syrah base of our Reds and Rosé is characteristic of our region.  The mature vines yield rich, delicious fruit, but we have also planted small quantities of other local varietals to “season” our blends with our own touch.  Our whites are unusually fine for the region because of the altitude (500m-1600ft), which allows for slow maturation and heat control.

Thus, we like to think all our wines have the following in common:

  • concentrated fruit aromas and rich meaty texture from the southern sun

  • freshness and acidity from our high altitude

  • complex basalt-based mineral structure from our unique geology

This combination helps them achieve desirable balance and finesse, as well as a persistent finish. 

The Range

We currently produce two flagship Reds (Abélard & Héloïse) and several special cuvées, two Whites (Aliot & Viognier), one house Rosé and a limited edition set of wines for the prestigious company Pont Des Arts Wine, who ask their favourite winemakers to interpret prominent contemporary works of art through wine.

The Appellation Question

Our land lies at the crossroads of 4 “Appellations” on the north east border of Gigondas (Côtes du Ventoux, Côtes du Rhône, Séguret).  Yet, because of the high altitude and unique geology, it’s atypical of the low-land Southern Rhône estates.  Thus, although we appreciate the many merits of the French “Appellation” system, we also like to have the freedom to make the wines that we feel best reflect the terroir, which sometimes results in “Vin de Pays” classification.  For example, we strongly believe our Viognier, fine and delicately perfumed thanks to the altitude, adds delightful floral notes to the otherwise fruity/spicy Syrah-Grenache base of Héloïse, not an accepted practice in our Appellations.

 

 
Cart (0)