Domaine Duclaux

The Duclaux family had wine in their blood. Louis Duclaux was the Mayor of Châteauneuf du Pape in 1627 and the Duclaux were founder members of the Appellation Association. The rules they helped draw up to govern production in Châteauneuf were to become the blueprint for the Appellation Controlee system we have today. When the last of the Duclaux died in 1987, Domaine Duclaux passed into the hands of friends - the Quiot Family who have farmed the Rhone for generations and own Domaine du Vieux Lazaret at Châteauneuf-du-Pape and the Château du Trignon at Gigondas. 

Mourvèdre and Grenache dominate some 30 acres of holdings, there is also snippets of Muscardin, Terret Noir, Picpoul, Vaccarèse, Syrah and Counoise. Fascinatingly the varieties are largely plated together as in a field blend, in the same parcel, everything must be done by hand here and it is. The Domaine boasts truly ancient Mourvèdre vines on sandy alluvial soils, some date back to 1880 when the vineyards were replanted post phylloxera. They are among the oldest in the appellation. This ancient terroir is perfectly conveyed through the beautiful, and traditional wines of Domaine Duclaux, lovers of Châteauneuf-du-Pape will swoon.