Collection: Chêne Bleu

Chêne Bleu is a rather unusual Rhône estate, and the story is almost as interesting as the wines. Nicole and Xavier Rolet took on the abandoned Domaine de La Verrière in the 1990s, restoring a medieval priory and its neglected vineyards in the hills above Crestet, near Gigondas. The estate sits at around 550 metres, making it one of the highest vineyards in the Vaucluse, with a mix of clay, limestone and basalt-rich soils. That altitude is important: the southern sun gives concentration, while cooler nights help retain acidity and freshness. The 30-hectare vineyard is planted mainly with mature Grenache and Syrah, alongside Roussanne, Marsanne, Viognier, Clairette and Mourvèdre.

The Rolets farm the estate organically and according to biodynamic principles, with hand harvesting, low yields and careful work parcel by parcel. The winery itself is gravity-fed, with small tanks allowing individual vineyard blocks to be vinified separately, and the grapes are double-sorted before fermentation. The headline wines are Abélard and Héloïse, two different takes on the same high-altitude terroir, alongside whites such as Aliot and Viognier. Chêne Bleu isn't interested in making the biggest, heaviest Southern Rhône wines; the idea is to combine ripe fruit and Mediterranean warmth with altitude, acidity and a distinctive mineral character. It is a small, painstaking operation where the emphasis is firmly on site, farming and precision rather than appellation prestige.