Spirit of Rhône Vignobles
THERE ARE FOURTEEN OF THEM:
vignerons, vigneronnes, couples, brothers. Scattered from the north to the south of the valley, but bonded by a river’s legend and the strength of their shared love of wine.
To tend a vineyard and make fine wines one must, it is s aid, have doubts and beliefs. And they all certainly had their doubts when they launched Rhône Vignobles in 1990. Twenty-five years later, they still do, such is the intensity of the quest for perfection that drives them.
Nor is there a shortage of beliefs in this very vigorous bunch, who laugh until they cry and speak words of wisdom. “Wine must wed human intelligence with a terroir’s force and authenticity at every stage in its production,” they state with one philosophy. What they all have is soul, vines and sincerity – each with their own history, sensibility, and way of listening to and respecting nature.
Despite their talents and successes, they have never attemted to be a “dream team”, never sought to claim to be “right”. They simply prefer to put their heads together, sharing experiences and values, listening to each other’s, mutually boosting each others confidence.
For occasional long-distance trips to discover other vineyards and meet other wine-lovers. During each of these moments, savoured in unison, what flows between them – like the river that bonds them – is friendship. What can be heard singing around them is Syrah, Grenache and Viognier. And what wells up inside them, like the teardrops of their vines…? Humanity!