Location | France |
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Website | https://www.andre-brunel.fr |
Social accounts |
Since the 17th century, our family's winemaking activity has been documented by the purchase from the Bishop of Avignon of a plot of vineyard to the north of the appellation. Many generations have succeeded one another in the service of the vine, but it was only in 1954 that Lucien Brunel created the brand Les Cailloux in order to develop and promote the specificities and qualities of the estate's wines. Henceforth, the estate would be referred to as Domaine Les Cailloux. In 1971, André Brunel took over the management of the estate. Under his leadership, the Domaine experienced rapid growth: acquiring vineyards in Côtes du Rhône and Vin de Pays, and launching the famous Cuvée Centenaire in 1989. He also introduced significant changes in the vineyard management process, being one of the first in Châteauneuf du Pape to practice cover cropping and adopt a non-chemical approach to vine cultivation. In 2012, his son, Fabrice Brunel, joined him to perpetuate the family's history. The Domaine spans three appellations: Châteauneuf du Pape, of course, but also Côtes du Rhône and Vin de Pays de Vaucluse. Our pursuit of quality, respect for our terroirs, and the ambition to always offer our customers wines that they will appreciate as they age, drive us to take extreme care in their production, regardless of their appellation. The differences primarily concern aging periods (longer for Châteauneuf, shorter for Vin de Pays to make them more quickly accessible) and the use of barrels (for Syrahs in Châteauneuf du Pape to soften tannins, absent in Côtes du Rhône and Vin de Pays to preserve the freshness of the fruit).