La Grande Maison
The great house is a beautiful house with a rich and historic past. Residing in the heart of a village she was once deemed to protect. Through out her history, many famous people have stopped by. Such as Francis of Assis, patron saint of animals, Saint Louis, Louis XIII and Moliere to name but a few of the more well known.
The far mis structured between two activities : The Domaine des Captives composed of vineyards with its winemaking and the Moulin des Ombres (Mill of the Shadows) for olive oil.
Owing to acquisitions, exchanges and transfers of land it extends over approximately 500 acres, of which half is grapevines and the other olive trees and arable land.
Jean-René de Fleurieu
A producer of films and potatoes
From the peaks of Pic st Loup to the summits of Mont Ventoux, I have always loved this country, my land of freedom, the great house and my village. Whose houses, and doors are always open and through which one enters and is greeted with kindness. I would like to pay tribute to the town saddler who took me in, who carder wool, patched mattresses, repaired the harnesses of horses and mules, children’s school satchels and told an infinite number of beautiful stories. He welcomed me in his house and his workshop and thaught me that man’ greatest treasure is his ability to enjoy life. It is he who also taught me that the best way to know a land is to cultivate it. I am forever thankful. His name was Jean Donnet.
Benjamin Béguin
Benjamin Béguin began twenty years ago at the Domaine as a vineyard operator, he has since become a managing partner. He is responsible for the winemaking and of the Moulin des Ombres and oversees the future of the estate.
Le Domaine des Captives
The Cellar & the grapevine
The Domaine des Captives is the activity dedicated to viticulture, winemaking and marketing of the wines we produce. The estate comprises nearly 250 acres producing wines of different appellations, Côtes du Rhône and Côtes du Rhône villages, Les Costières de Nîmes and Les Coteaux du Pont du Gard.
4 wines in 3 colors originating from a dozen different varietals of which the best known are Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, Carignan, Roussane, Viognier and several others. The vines grow in a hallowed farmland made up of contrasting terrain. From the vast silty soils of the plains along the majestic Rhone to the sunny hillsides of its banks and the stony plateaus of it’s now abandoned river beds. Most of the plots are irrigated to allow the vine to resist the incresing draughts in the area. Some of the wine is hand harvested allowing for carbonic maceration bestowing a distinctive characteristic to some of our wines. The style of the estate is defined by wines which are lively and elegant, the use of little or no wood, with emphasis on the fruit and the terroir.
The Mill of the Shadows
The Mill of the Shadows, one of the main olive mills of the Languedoc and Provence regions, employs the latest technology assuring the integrity and purity of the fruit juice which is olive oil. Say good-bye to stone presses and the old time woven filters known as scourtins. The mill completes the olive oil making process beginning with the mechanical harvesting of the fruit 20 years ago. The choice of mechanization is not sacred, but the result of studies on enhancing the oil’s organoleptic characteristics. It is one of the essential components. The olive grove has more than 120 000 trees planted over the past 20 years with different cultivars from Provence, Tuscany, Catalan and Languedoc allowing us to offer single varieties and unique blends.
Marco Oreggia’s Flos Olei respected guide book – willing to be the Parker of olive oils – ranked Moulin des Ombres olive oil amongst the world’s best 20.