Andre Brunel

Our family has been in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape region since the 17th century and has been fully committed to making wine for five generations.

As of the 17th century, the wine-making activity of our family was testified by the purchase of a vineyard plot from the Bishop of Avignon to the north of the appellation.

Numerous generations followed on, all working in the vineyards but it was only in 1954 that Lucien Brunel created the name “Les Cailloux” to develop the business and promote the Domaine’s wine qualities and special characteristics. From that time one, it was referred to as the Domaine Les Cailloux.

In 1971, André Brunel took over the reins of the Domaine. His endless motivation resulted in a rapid growth for the Domaine: repurchasing of Côtes du Rhône and Vins de Pays vines, and launch of the infamous Centenary Cuvée in 1989. He also made some considerable changes in the vine management process by being one of the first people in Châteauneuf-du-Pape to use the ground covering method and to proceed with a non-chemical approach to wine-farming.

In 2012, his son, Fabrice Brunel, joined the team so the family history can continue.

The Estate is divided up into three appellations: Châteauneuf-du-Pape of course, but also Côtes du Rhône and Vaucluse Vins de Pays.

Our pursuit for quality, our utmost respect for the land and the drive to always provide our customers with wines they can enjoy throughout their ageing, impels us to be immeasurably meticulous during its production, regardless its appellation.

The differences are mainly the maturing times (longer for the Châteauneuf, and shorter for the Vins de Pays to make them available sooner) and the usage of vats (for Syrahs in Châteauneuf-du-Pape to mellow out the tannins, absent on the Côtes du Rhône and the Vins de Pays to maintain the fruits freshness). 

"We want to produce wines reflecting their region and origin while remaining elegant and wonderfully subtle."

OUR VINEYARDS:

Châteauneuf-du-Pape

The Domaine boasts 21 hectares under the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation, including 2 with whites, which are divided up into about ten segments. The largest are Farguerol to the north, Revès and Plan du Rhône to the south and Bois de la Ville at the top end of the village.

The soils vary with countless round pebbles but also sandy and clayey soils.

Ground topography: analysis of a segment with round pebbles

The “useful” layers for the vineyard are in tiers of about 3 metres:

• From 0 to 50 cm: mainly pebbles (80%) completed by sand. Large amount of roots.
• From 50 to 140 cm: large amount of pebbles (60%), the rest being mostly clay. A lot of fine roots and rootlets.
• From 140 to 300 cm: layer of accumulated clay but still with pebbles (about 20%).

Deep roots make it easier to trap water which is present over 2 metres under the surface and the pebbles reduce the evaporation due to heat or the Mistral. Therefore the plant is well hydrated even during hot summer weather.

Grape Varieties planted

The red grape varieties are mainly Grenache Noir, followed by Mourvèdre, Syrah and Cinsault:

• 70% of Grenaches, which, if harvested when very ripe, contribute to the strength, roundness and aromas of crushed red fruits,
• 17% of Mourvèdres which, planted in suitable soil (sandy clay) and harvested late, contribute to the structure of lively tannins, emphasizing the qualities of Grenache without making them denatured,
• 10% of Syrah which gives aromas of fresh black fruits and for amplified the colour,
• 3% of Cinsaults which gives a bit of lightness to the whole.

In white grapes, Roussanne dominates (85%) followed by White Grenache (15%).

Côtes du Rhône

The Domaine boasts about 40 hectares in Côtes du Rhône, mostly located to the east of the city of Orange and the rest being in the Gard near Lirac.

Ground topography

The upper ground layer is mostly made of modern sandy-clay type alluvial deposit. It has the advantage of being able to resist water stress in summer, therefore limiting vineyard irrigation.

The lower layers are mainly made of limestone with a strong draining capacity. The roots are therefore less deep than for Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

The climate is exceptionally sunny with an average rain-water amount of 650 mm. 

Grape varieties planted

The grape varieties are made up of old Grenache vines (nearly 85%) which are over 40 years old.

The Domaine also had 1.5 hectares of Côtes du Rhône whites in the commune of Bédarrides which has been replanted with new vines of the Roussanne, Clairette and White Grenache varieties.

Vins de Pays

The Domaine also boasts 30 hectares of Vins de Pays (or PGI – Protected Geographical Indication) located mainly in the commune of Travaillan in the north of the Vaucluse.

Ground Topography

The soils are mainly composed of recent fluvial deposits located on the bank of the Aygues river.

Grape Varieties planted

The vines are mostly planted with Grenache whose yield is limited (about 45hl/h) in order to preserve a top-quality production.

Destemming (or destalking): step which consists of separating the berries from the stalk (taking the grapes off the bunch).Keeping the stalks (referred to as the “whole” harvest) allows the wine impurities to be absorbed but an unripe stalk can give very unpleasant herbaceous aromas.

Crushing: step which consists of bursting the grapes to release the juice.

Pressuring: step which consists of pressing the grapes to recuperate the juice and have it sent to a decanting vat.

Settling of the must: settling of the juice by removing floating particles.

Alcoholic fermentation: step where the yeasts slowly change the sugar into alcohol. This step produces powerful CO2 emissions and increases the temperature in the vat. This lasts between 15 and 45 days.

This step coincides with the maceration: the must (juice) is in contact with the skin to allow the tannin and colour to be extracted.

Several methods exist to optimise this work:

• Pumping over which consists of recuperating the fermenting must accumulated at the bottom of the vat and pouring it onto the cap which floats on the vat surface, 
• Rack and return which consists of recuperating the must at the bottom of the vat and pouring it into a second vat and then sending it back onto the cap,
• Punching of the cap which consists of crushing the cap into the fermenting juice by breaking it up to extract the colour and aromas.

Our working methods

The grapes, carefully picked and sorted by grape-pickers in the vineyard, are sent as is to the vinification cellar in small containers.
Upon arrival, they are transferred into a rolling receiving bin for grapes (large conical stainless steel container) which forward them to their final destination.
This installation is above the cellar allowing for the grapes to just fall into the vat where they’ll be vinified.

Vinification of White Grapes

Only white grapes picked in the morning pass through the crusher (small machine made of two rollers which burst open the grapes as they pass through) and then go down into a pneumatic pressing machine which is just below.

For the next two hours, this pressing machine, using an inflated compressed air membrane, will slowly press the bunches, extracting the juice referred to as must. The latter is then cooled down to 12° and sent into a concrete vat where it will naturally decant for 24 hours. The cleared must is then pumped into the fermentation vat and yeast is added to ensure a slow, regular, low-temperature fermentation during 4-6 weeks.

Vinification of Red Grapes

A part of them (20 to 40%) are brought directly  and whole, to their fermentation vat where they burst open upon arrival after a drop of around 5 metres. Their role in the vat is important as the presence of stalks (what holds the bunches of grapes) gives the must a better draining system through the grape and thus facilitates pumping operations.
The acidity of this stalk also contributes to adding a little freshness to the grapes which are often very ripe and therefore lack acidity. 

The other part is sent to the destemming-crushing machine where grapes are separated from the stalks and then burst to release part of their juice in the vat where they will ferment.
When the vat is full, a pump homogenizes the must and simultaneously adds the yeasts which will start-off the fermentation, taking 2-3 weeks between 25-30°.

During this period, pumping over operations will be carried out (pumping of the must at the bottom of the vat and sending it to the top where it will sprinkle the solid part which is floating above the must, called the cap).
This operation is to gently extract the colour and tannins in the grape skins, an extraction we amplify through rack and return. The latter consists of totally emptying the must from the vat to obtain a light pressure of the grapes under their own weight, then sending it to the top where the cap soaks in it for several hours.

Once the alcoholic fermentation phase is over, a maceration phase begins during which we’ll extract the fatty acids such as glycerol which gives wines roundness in the mouth. For this, during the pumping over, we’ll carefully try to mix the lees, making them float in what is now the wine where they’ll slowly begin to blend.