Pleasure
to
Gastronomes
Powered with the same passion for delicate and deep wines, our family looks forward to producing red and white Rhone valley appellations focusing on elegance, finesse and balance which do express all together specificities of our soils and climate through our know-how.
Since1842
The first vines found at Mont-Redon date back to Roman times. They were planted at the bottom of the hill, sheltered from the Mistral wind, that gave its name to the Mont-Redon property.
In 1344, “Mourredon”, part of the Pope’s land holdings, was officially recognised as a vineyard. In the middle of the 18th Century, the nobleman Joseph Ignace d’Astier, a lawyer with a doctorate in Law from Avignon, acquired Mont-Redon. The Mathieu family, descendants of the Astiers, then took ownership.
Anselme Mathieu, who called himself the “Marquis of Mont-Redon”, ran the domaine until his mother, Claire Mathieu, died, causing the inheritance to be split up amongst her children. At the same time, in 1866, phylloxera ravaged the Châteauneuf-du-Pape vineyards.
PHOTOS
In 1923, Henri Plantin took over Mont-Redon and its 2.5 hectares of vines spread out across the appellation. He worked on grouping together as many parcels as possible, and had the foresight to plant on the wide open plateau, with its rocky soil and forest patches, never before cultivated, that looks over the Château. Alive with the same passion for their work, always in quest of the highest quality terroirs and the grape varieties that are best adapted to them, Henri Plantin’s descendants continue to search out the best pieces of land with which to ensure the domaine’s growth.
For four generations, in the middle of their vines and through the centuries, the family has continually enhanced its wine-making knowledge, always in pursuit of greater quality.
Today, Château Mont-Redon owns 186 hectares in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation, of which 100 are planted with vines. In 1980, another domaine was acquired in the Côtes du Rhône, and in 1997, one in Lirac.
Mont-Redon in few pictures...
We produce wines from three appellations in the southern Rhône valley: Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Lirac and Côtes du Rhône. Thirteen grape varieties (white and red) can be used to make a Châteauneuf-du-Pape wine. We cultivate and vinify all thirteen. The Lirac and Côtes du Rhône are made with two, three or four varieties. Grenache (red or white) is the predominant grape in all blends.
Such a large and high quality palette of grapes allows us to create subtle relationships between them, always in the goal of producing wines that are perfectly harmonious and balanced, with great complexity. These blends are the reflection of our terroir and of our own personality.
The king of all southern Rhône grapes, Grenache has incredible aromatic potential. Producing a velvety sensation when tasting and giving a wine a powerful background structure.
Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s terroir is ideal for this variety, with its peppery, spicy aromas.
With great aromatic complexity on its side (blackcurrant, blackberry, blueberry, violets…). Complementary to Grenache, it provides, apart from its aromas, more intense colour and better defined structure.
Freshness and floral notes are always welcome. We add them to our Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines.
Freshness and floral notes are always welcome. We add them to our Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines.
Also worthy of interest, Mourvèdre brings its wild and spicy aromas that evolve into leather and animal notes. A precious partner for Grenache, reinforcing its structure and complexity.
Cinsault adds finesse and elegance, showing off floral aromas. It is used in our rosé wines and in some of our reds.
Freshness and floral notes are always welcome. We add them to our Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines.
White Rhône wines often owe their floral character and freshness to this grape. It plays a dominant role in our Lirac and embellishes our Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
Known for its superb roundness and its aromas of pitted fruit (apricot) and violet. It shows itself so well when coming from Château Mont-Redon’s more southern terroirs that it has its very own Côtes du Rhône cuvée.
The white variety bestows roundness and length on a wine. It happily expresses itself in our Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Lirac, and Côtes du Rhône.
Finesse and aromatic intensity characterise Picpoul. Its fruity and floral aromas are a part of our Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
Together with the Clairette, it brings freshness and liveliness to our Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Côtes du Rhône wines. This late-ripening variety is more than welcome in our southern climate.
The queen of elegance, Roussanne adorns our Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Côtes du Rhône wines with all its aromatic attractiveness: honeysuckle, narcissus, iris… Grand yet subtle!
The quality of our grapes : our priority !
We pay a particular attention to maintain our three vineyards: Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Lirac and Côtes-du-Rhône. This meticulous work allows us to harvest the highest grapes quality. Our vineyard spreads as follow: 186 hectares in Châteauneuf-du-pape, among which 100 hectares in production; 25 hectares in Côtes-du-Rhône, among which 22 hectares in production; 33 hectares in Lirac, among which 32 in production
Water
A typically Mediterranean
climate
The Châteauneuf-du-Pape region and all around it benefit from a Mediterranean climate, characterised by summer drought and rain patterns that are never the same from one year to the next. Usually July is the driest month, and October the wettest.
Sun
An abundant sunshine,
for best ripenesses
The Châteauneuf-du-Pape region is a sunny one, with as many hours of sunshine as Los Angeles (2800 hours per year). The heat that builds up during the day is reflected back onto the vines at night by the galets roulés (pudding stones), encouraging early ripening.
Wind
The Mistral, great wind
of prodigious strength
Provence is a region of sunshine, thanks in large part to the great wind of prodigious strength: the Mistral. It can blow at speeds of up to 100 km/h at any time of the day or year. Clouds are blown aside to unmask the beautiful blue sky behind, and the sun very rarely fights with fog or mist. The wind also cleans the vineyards, keeping them free of mildew and other diseases.
Châteauneuf
du pape
Châteauneuf-du-Pape a unique Geology in the World. During the Miocene period, the oceans withdrew and the continents started to become visible. In the eroded Alp mountains, rocky boulders broke off valley walls, creating a layer of stones that cracked their way down to the south, producing the Rhône’s ancient river bed. In the Venaissin County, where Châteauneuf-du-Pape is located, the Astienne Sea’s waters were shallow and the heaviest rocks (alpine quartzite) resisted the currents pulling them out to sea.
Rolled about by the river, they were spread out over the appellation’s highest plains. In some places, they create a layer that can be up to two metres deep, underneath which is a strip of red clay that regulates the amount of water reaching a vine. In this first type of soil, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre produce wines that are generous, powerful, tannic and concentrated. A rift in the highest part of Châteauneuf-du-Pape shifted the river’s course to three kilometres below its original path, bringing with it the smallest parts of the soil, which broke into smaller pieces still, creating sand. This second type of soil increases the aromatic character of Syrah, Cinsault and Mourvèdre.
The last zone of urgonian limestone is a result of the bedrock being eroded by the weather. Soils here are shallower and give excellent results with our white varieties, rich with aromas of white and citrus fruits.
Terroir
Geological section
Area under cultivation: 3153 ha, average yearly production: 102782 hl average yield: 35 hl/ha
Soil types: Of varying depths and varying stoniness, the soil is mainly made up of large round quartz stones mixed with sandy red clay.
Climate : This is the driest region of the Côtes du Rhône; the prevailing wind is the Mistral and there are approximately 2,800 hours of sunshine per year, the heat of the day is stored by stones and released at night.
Lirac
Right Bank
of the
Rhône
Separated from Châteauneuf-du-Pape by the river, Lirac is one of the crus in the Rhône valley that can produce all three colours: red, rosé and white. Characteristic soils are made up of terraces covered in “galets roulés”, the pudding stone more commonly associated with Châteauneuf-du-Pape, a result of the miniature landslides that occur on the slopes. Grape varieties grown here show their typical characteristics.
Terroir
Geological section
Area under cultivation : 661 hectares, yearly production: 19861 hl; average yield: 32hl/hectare.
Soil types: Red terraces of rounded stones, loessal and sandy skeletal soils
Climate : Typically Mediterranean with low rainfall, with an average of 2,700 hours of sunshine per year with the Mistral as the prevailing wind.
Côtes
du Rhône
Around the towns of Orange and Roquemaure, our Côtes du Rhône vines are planted on stony, limestone-clay plains. The generous sun encourages the grapes to reveal all their best qualities on these terroirs.
Terroir
Geological section
Area under cultivation: 41220 hectares and 4500 wine makers make the Regional Côtes du Rhône one of the leading A.O.C. red wine producers in the Provence Alpes Côtes d’Azur and Languedoc Roussillon region. Average yield: 45hl/ha.
Soils The soil is the result of a climatic and vegetal interaction stretching over thousands of year. Moreover, the strong presence of the Rhône has left its mark throughout the sedimentary basin, carving out hills and vales, bearing with it the alluvial deposits that have created a complex and varied landscape that extends from Vienne to Avignon, and from Cévennes to the foothilles of the Alps.
Climate : The typically Mediterranean climate is held in the sway of the mistral, that great and forceful wind that is borne out of variations in atmospheric pressure between Northern and Southern climes, and which is so vital and beneficial to the growth of the wine. The region’s climate is a heady blend of seasons that bring each in their turn, heavy rainfall, extremely high temperatures and log intervals of exceptional sunshine.
Environmental approach
The proper management of waste has been one of our priorities for the past 10 years.
PROTECTING
THE ENVIRONMENT
IS A PRIORITY
We built our own purifying station and all waste (from the vineyards, the cellar and the Château itself) is treated biologically before being drained on a bed of reeds. Château Mont-Redon was one of the first domaines to both treat its waste and recycle.
Canadian
WELL
Purifying station
on a bed of reeds
The Harvest, a Noble Raw Material
Harvesting is done manually. Grapes are sorted on the vine and transported quickly to our cellars. Our primary objective is to respect and protect our raw material throughout its journey to the fermentation tank. For red wines, all bunches are destemmed to avoid extracting tannins that are too astringent or harsh, found in the stems themselves.
Our
Red wines:
the Quest for Elegant
Tannins
Our
White Wines:
Showing Off our Terroirs’
PURITY
Visionic
sorting
system
This very modern technology uses cameras linked to a computer that pictures the berries. A software sorts then the berries according to their shape, size and colour.
The main component of terroir, soil has to stay healthy and balanced to ensure a vine’s good health and long life.
We commercialise our wines worldwide, in more than forty countries.
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