Since we decided to produce our organic Oé wines hand in hand with our winegrowers, we have been working with Emmanuel . Happy winemaker in Sorgues, we have experienced many beautiful things with him, such as the production of white Côtes-du-Rhône cuvées and Châteauneuf - du-Pape that we have just revealed to you; and we harvested as a team in August on his estate. By bike Simone, we take you to meet Emmanuel!
Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the first prestige cuvée of organic wine Oé
The AOC Châteauneuf-du-Pape is the jewel of the southern Rhône Valley wine heritage , and one of the greatest French vintages . It was the Popes who, when they settled in Avignon in the 14th century , revealed the magnificent terroir of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. This Oé cuvée, made with love with Emmanuel, Oé winemaker in Sorgues , will go wonderfully with gratins of seasonal vegetables and characterful cheeses .
The color of Châteauneuf-du-Pape is ruby red. The nose of this delicious, prestigious organic wine has bewitching aromas of red fruits. The palate is ample and structured thanks to the blend of three grape varieties: 70% Grenache, 20% Mourvèdre and 10% Syrah. The Oé and Emmanuel team advise you to serve Châteauneuf-du-Pape around 16°, and you can taste it without further delay or choose to let it age in the cellar for between 4 and 7 years.
Interview with Emmanuel, winegrower in organic farming
Can you tell us about the history of the estate?
“This estate is historic. Originally, Giglius, a certain Roman legionary, came to build a temple. With history, it has become a priori, the second home of the Bishop of Avignon. Since Roman times, there have always been vines here.”
For how many years has the vineyard been labeled organic?
“We've been organic for a few decades, and every year we try to see what we can do to bring in biodiversity. We have a wine estate, to avoid monoculture, we embellished it, we planted olive trees.”
What have you put in place to diversify the land and the estate?
“I wanted to go further than just saying “we're organic”. In the vineyards, we sow cereals which will have several interests: hold the soil, make a green amendment, work the soil less and waste less fuel. And all this for the good of the environment. You can see that we have beehives too, fields of lavender. And all that brings us biodiversity, with nesting boxes for bats. In this castle we welcome guests and this allows us to offer them honey, essential oils and even soap. Which are produced from the crops we grow here.”
Things are moving on the estate, can you tell us more about it?
“The domain is in full development, in restructuring, whether in the vines, in the equipment, or in the real estate. We have a new cellar that has just come out of the ground, to best accommodate the grapes that we are going to bring them, and finally, to use as few inputs as possible. For us, it is very important to make this new cellar because we will be able to work with precision. To offer the best wine, while guaranteeing the minimum of inputs.”
What grape varieties do you grow?
“We find Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Syrah mainly. We are also in several appellations, and in particular Châteauneuf-du-Pape, where we have almost all the authorized grape varieties. We add small varieties such as Counoise, Terret… When we talk about the majority grape variety, Grenache is not just Grenache Noir, it is also Grenache Blanc, Grenache Rose. In this way, we try to bring diversity to our products. Let the environment be less monopolistic.”
Team harvesting on the Emmanuel estate
This year, the whole team went to Sorgues to do the harvest . Sorgues is in the south of France about 2h30 from Lyon. Emmanuel, winemaker Oé produces with us, hand in hand, the white Côtes du Rhône that you love so much and Le Chateauneuf-du-Pape . Here are some pictures of this day we spent as a team 😊
