DOMAINE RICHAUD

  • Marcel Richaud is a titan of the natural wine world. From an early age, he knew his unsung home of Cairanne could be something special. Dropping out of high school at seventeen to take up viticulture, I’m not sure he ever doubted his abilities despite his parents’ nervousness about their son’s ambition.

    He began with his Aunt’s fourteen hectares, followed by fifteen more from his father when he retired. At this point, the fifth-generation estate was farmed using the typical heavy-handed systemic chemical treatments of the era and selling their high-cropped grapes to the co-op. Marcel immediately turned to organic farming and left the co-op, making his own wines the hard way. He was only twenty, but this anarchist spirit has stuck with him for the last fifty vintages.

    His first investment was building a proper cellar, somewhere tidy and ergonomic, to start coaxing his wines to life. He then purchased a few additional hectares on soil types he didn’t already have access to, including clay in the famed l’Ebrescade, completing his picture of Cairanne.

  • Although he has always eschewed pesticides and herbicides, he didn’t pursue certification until 2008. He takes a ‘soil up’ approach, believing that balance (biodiversity, nutrient availability, water holding capacity, etc.) is paramount to the health of his vines and, ultimately, the quality of the finished wines. Any issue in the cellar can be traced back to an issue underground. His other cornerstones of success are old vines and low yields (often less than 25hl/ha).

  • Marcel’s contributions to Natural Wine go far beyond producing delicious bottles. He helped found the AVN (Association des Vins Naturels) with equivalently instrumental producers like Pierre Overnoy, Marcel Lapierre, and Pierre Breton. Their goal was to share their vision and inspire young vignerons to follow suit, returning to the vineyards more collaboratively. He has also recommended including ingredient lists on bottles – a controversial ideology we also support. He advocated for the elevation of Cairanne from Village to Cru level in the Rhone appellation system and was instrumental in achieving that goal in 2016.

    In 2016, his son Thomas returned to the winery, and Claire, his daughter, returned the year after. Knowing this illustrious estate will continue for another generation brings us great joy. Their wines are not only beloved by the natural wine world (Natural Wine by Aaron Ayscough) but are praised by conventional wine media (Jancis Robinson’s Wine Atlas). Like his companions in the AVN, he has transcended style and simply makes wines that speak to everyone.

MORE FROM THE RHÔNE VALLEY: THIBAUD CAPELLARO | MARTIN TEXIER | LA FERME DES SEPT LUNES

ESTIMATED RETAIL PRICE: $31.00 (AB), $39.00 (BC)

CSPC: 884498 (AB), 232218 (BC)

2022 A LA SOURCE

This entry level cuvée comes from their youngest vines, currently between three and seven years old. They’re primarily in Les Plantiers but the wine is traditionally beefed up with fruit from Les Granges and Garrigues. Yields are permitted to reach 40 hl/ha to promote a fresher profile. Grenache (60%), Syrah (15%), Counoise (15%), and Mourvèdre (10%) are destemmed into concrete for a short 8 to 10 day maceration before being pressed off back into tank for an eight month élevage. It is bottled with 15ppm of SO2. 14% ABV

ESTIMATED RETAIL PRICE: $34.00 (AB), $42.50 (BC)

CSPC: 884500 (AB), 369309 (BC)

2022 TERRE D’AIGLES

This cuvée comes from several plots beneath the winery near the river, mostly from the lieu dit of La Béraude; The proximity to water is very helpful for dry farming in an arid region. It is almost entirely flat so they use a larger, draping canopy to protect against sun and heat damage. The 70 year old bush vines were the first farmed by Marcel fifty years ago and are conveniently across the street from their original cellar. The soils here are finer silt and sand but include some clay resulting in an earlier drinking cuvée. It is comprised of Grenache (65%), Syrah (15%), Carignan (10%), and Counoise (10%). The grapes are fermented on skins (the latter two varieties as whole clusters) for 8 to 12 days before being pressed back into concrete for élevage. 15ppm of SO2 is added at bottling. 14.5% ABV

ESTIMATED RETAIL PRICE: $37.00 (AB), $48.00 (BC)

CSPC: 885945 (AB), 232237 (BC)

2022 TERRE DE GALETS

This wine is made from Grenache (50%), Carignan (25%), Mourvèdre (15%), and Syrah (10%). The grapes come from four plots: Garrigues, Carré, Canarde, and Truffière. Soils in are red clay punctuated by large stones, some as big as bowling balls. The thirty-year-old vines cook in this scorching and arid site, unprotected from the elements. The grapes are mostly destemmed, although the Carignan is typically fermented whole-cluster. After a short maceration and limited remontage, the wine is pressed off for an eight-month élevage in concrete. The wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered with 15 ppm of SO2. 15% ABV

ESTIMATED RETAIL PRICE: $46.00 (AB), $57.00 (BC)

CSPC: 884501 (AB), 232229 (BC)

2022 CAIRANNE ROUGE

Their flagship wine comes from their best plots in Cairanne: Chantal, les Garrigues, les Combes, les Partides, la Ridel, and les Bayes. The vines are 40-70 years old and reflect all three terroir types including terraces above the village. These vineyards yielded 25hl/ha in 2022. It is a blend of Mourvèdre (40%), Grenache (20%), Syrah (20%), and Carignan (20%). All but the Carignan is destemmed for fermentation in concrete for roughly two weeks. The wine is then pressed into a combination of foudre (20%), demi-muids (30%), and concrete (50%). The wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered with 15 ppm of SO2. 15% ABV

A BOTTLE OF DOMAINE RICHAUD'S CAIRANNE BLANC. THE LABEL IS SIMPLE FEATURING TEXT, AND THEIR LOGO IN GREEN.

ESTIMATED RETAIL PRICE: $49.00 (AB), $59.50 (BC)

CSPC: 884502 (AB), 232221 (BC)

2022 CAIRANNE BLANC

With only 5% of Cairanne producing white wine, this is a rarity. This wine is made from a blend of Clairette, Grenache Blanc, Bourboulenc, Roussanne, Marsanne, and Viognier. Their white grapes are primarily planted on the sandier soils in the hills around the village. Vine age is between twenty and forty years old and yielded a modest 20 hl/ha this vintage. The grapes are crushed and macerated on skins for 12 hours before an incredibly long and gentle pressing. The juice is fermented in concrete at cold temperatures for a month before being racked into a combination of barrels and tanks. The varieties are blended shortly before bottling, receiving a judicious 15 ppm of SO2. 14.5% ABV

ESTIMATED RETAIL PRICE: $62.00 (AB), $73.50 (BC)

CSPC: 103851 (AB), 369312 (BC)

2021 CAIRANNE L’EBRESCADE

Their most limited wine comes from a handful of plots high above Cairanne on the hill of Ventabren hovering around 325m. The climate feels distinctly different, windy, exposed, almost alpine. Soils are an extremely nutrient poor combination of marls and calcareous stones. Very little grows out of the rocks and this vintage saw a meagre 12 hl/ha yield. The Mourvèdre (50%) and Grenache (20%) comes from forty year old vines, while the Syrah (30%) is more than 70. All these factors allow them to harvest at maximum ripeness without losing freshness. The grapes are destemmed and fermented in tank at cool temperatures for a few weeks before being pressed off into neutral demi-muids and foudre for two years of élevage.  14.5% ABV

ESTIMATED RETAIL PRICE: $37.00 (AB), $46.00 (BC)

CSPC: 885945 (AB), 232237 (BC)

2021 TERRE DE GALETS

This wine is made from Mourvèdre (40%), Grenache (35%), Carignan (15%), and Syrah (10%). The grapes come from four plots: Garrigues, Carré, Canarde, and Truffière. Soils, especially in Garrigues, are red clay punctuated by small stones. The thirty+-year-old vines cook in this scorching and arid site, unprotected from the elements. The grapes are mostly destemmed, although the Carignan is typically fermented whole-cluster. After a short maceration and limited remontage, the wine is pressed off for an eight-month élevage in concrete. The wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered with 15 ppm of SO2. 14% ABV

ESTIMATED RETAIL PRICE: $49.00 (AB), $59.50 (BC)

CSPC: 884502 (AB), 232221 (BC)

2021 CAIRANNE BLANC

This wine is made from a blend of Clairette (35%), Bourboulenc (31%), Roussanne (12%), Vermentino (10%), Viognier (6%), Grenache Blanc (3%), and Marsanne (3%). Their white grapes are primarily planted on the sandier soils in the hills around the village. Vine age is between twenty and forty years old. The grapes are crushed and macerated on skins for 12 hours before an incredibly long and gentle pressing. The juice is fermented in concrete at cold temperatures for a month before being racked into a combination of barrels and tanks. The varieties are blended shortly before bottling, receiving a judicious 15 ppm of SO2. 13.5% ABV