Domaine Piaugier CDR Grange de Piaugier 2005
Domaine Piaugier CDR Sablet White 2006
Domaine Piaugier Sablet Red 2005
Domaine De Piaugier
Domaine de Piaugier is situated in and around the village of Sablet, which stands proudly at the feet of the jagged Dentelles de Montmirail in the Vaucluse department of the Southern Rhône. The Sablet vineyards were first developed under the protection of the Counts of Toulouse to whom the property once belonged. In the 14th Century, this wine making activity was confirmed by the Avignon Popes under whose control the region had by then passed. Sablet was given the classification Côtes du Rhône Villages Sablet in 1974. Sablet rests between the villages of Séguret and Gigondas and, as its name implies, is built on sandstone.
The domaine has two great advantages. First, the domaine is composed of a large number of small plots and therefore various soils, including sandy decalcified red clay, flint, clay, silt, chalk and gravel. The second advantage is the age of the vines - - as they are between 20 and 45 years old, they are in their full, rich, plentiful prime.
The grapes are entirely hand-harvested, pressed and made into wine plot by plot which safeguards their distinct and separate characteristics. The dominant grape is Grenache. Others include Syrah, Counoise, Cinsault, and Carignan, each planted with a density of 4,000 plants per hectare. The pruning is always true to the traditional royat or gobelets methods.
The wines are made from whole bunches. Leaves are removed but the bunches are not destemmed. The fermentation lasts from a week for the Côtes du Rhône to a month for the Sablet and Gigondas. The fermentation temperatures are strictly controlled, depending on the cuvee, at between 28 and 33 degrees Celsius.
About the Winemakers
Jean-Marc Autran
Jean-Marc Autran, son, grandson, and great-grandson of wine growers, produced his first wine in 1985 in the cellars built by his great-grandfather, Alphonse Vautour, in 1947. Alphonse, who along the slopes of the Briguières hill had made all his wine in the family’s original property called Ténébi, decided to build the present cave on the side of the road leading up to the Ténébi.
Supported by his father, Jean-Marc increased the size of the domaine and developed the sale of bottled wine. Soon the cave was too small, and Jean-Marc decided to enlarge once again in 1995. Along with his wife Sophie, Jean-Marc now cultivates 30 hectares of vines as follows: 3.5 hectares of Gigondas, 12.5 hectares of Sablet, and 14 hectares of Côtes du Rhône.