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The wealth of Vacqueyras comes from the diversity of its soils, the grape varieties and an elaborate wine making techniques. A wine lover will always find a wine to his liking, a wine that will give him full satisfaction,

he will relish the consistent qualities of our wines. 

Though the promotion of the name of Vacqueyras owes much to the steadfast determination of its winegrowers, it is nevertheless driven by the excellence and quality of its wines and exceptional soils. 

 

SOILS AND GRAPE VARIETIES

THE WINES OF VACQUEYRAS

It is important to remember that VACQUEYRAS is the only " Left Bank" appellation of the Cotes du Rhône to produce wines in the three colors : Red, White and Rosé. 

 

The various types of soil, grape varieties and winemaking techniques of the growers or wine makers of VACQUEYRAS, all contribute to producing a vast pallet of tasting characteristics. Vacqueyras has a wide range of wines, all highly expressive. 

You will find many things in common in every VACQUEYRAS wine, such as :
Full bodiness, richness, roundness, longevity and always a sense of harmony.
Certain VACQUEYRAS wines already have these characteristics while quite young. Others are traditionally more elaborate, with longer vinification processes, so you will have wait 2 to 3 yearsto appreciate their full maturity and equilibrium.

 

On an aromatic level, the first impression is of small red berries, and violet.
The second level will gradually develop scents of liquorice, undergrowth, sometimes of pepper and spices, in older vintages.

The color of a VACQUEYRAS wine is always intense, quite consistent and deep.
Ageing varies from 7 to 10 years, on average.
Diversity is the richness of VACQUEYRAS wines. A wine lover will always find a wine that satisfies his tastes, a wine that will give him full satisfaction.
He will always enjoy the consistent qualities of our wines. 

RED VARIETIES

GRENACHE : basic variety, at least for 50 % of all the vines planted. It brings : roundness, power and body to VACQUEYRAS wines.
It is combined with complementary varieties to express its fullest character.

SYRAH : early maturing variety. It brings : aromas of violet and liquorice, intense colouring and robustness to VACQUEYRAS wines.

MOURVEDRE : late maturing variety. It brings : secondary aromas, great smoothness and natural acidity. Its tanins mature slowly, giving VACQUEYRAS wines good ageing potential.

CINSAULT : variety perfectly adapted to sandy soils or clayey – limestone soils. With the grenache, one of basic varieties for fine fruity rosés.

WHITE VARIETIES

 

WHITE GRENACHE : main variety in the white wines of Vacqueyras. Rich and round it brings body to our wines.

CLAIRETTE and BOURBOULENC : later variety, good acidity, with floral notes and a great dominant aromatic richness, sharp with rich aromas.

ROUSSANNE / MARSANNE / VIOGNIER : more recent in VACQUEYRAS, good results when blended with other varieties.

 

THE KEY ASSETS OF THE APPELLATION

Though the promotion of the name of Vacqueyras owes much to the steadfast determination of its winegrowers, it is nevertheless driven by the excellence and quality of its wines, and exceptional soils.

THE SOILS

 

The soils are sometimes sandy, but are mostly stony; the well exposed hillsides are very favorable to vineyard and the dry and hot climate of the area of the Dentelles de Montmirail are undeniable assets to wine making.
The marly clayey terrace lands are from the Helvetian period, and are extremely beneficial to our vines.

Some of these soils are eroded calcareous soils, with Astien sands. The Garrigues plateau primarily consists of clayey-limy red soil, with rolled pebbles : these soils are poor, favourable to low yield, producing grapes that are very concentrated in tannins and aroma.

This large variety of soils gives the wines of VACQUEYRAS their unique character. The diversity of these soils is a token to a broad pallet of vintages, in the production of every Domaine.

 

THE CLIMATE

Mediterranean climate
- 600 to 800 mm of rainwater per year, primarily in the form of showers and storms.
- More than 100 days of mistral per year.
- Summer dryness, good for the maturation of the grapes.
This climate, moderated by the solid prealpine mass of the Dentelles de Montmirail, gives VACQUEYRAS great assets for a very typical and original wine.