Le Vieux Donjon

Since 1979 Marie Jose and Lucien Michel have been making the wines at this small, family-run domaine. The winemaking philosophy is very traditional - no new oak is employed, fermentation is carried out in cement tanks and the wine is aged of between 18 and 30 months in large oak foudres. Structure is gained naturally through pure, concentrated fruit and the inclusion of a good percentage of stems. They only produce a single cuvee of red wine and of that less than 4500 cases are made yearly. Yields are regularly under 30hl/ha. 75% of the cuvee comes from Grenache vines that average 90 years old, with 15% Syrah and 10% Mouvedre and Cinsault. The Michels believe that vinifying all the varieties together produces a more harmonious whole, and the single estate bottling is the result of cellar selections.