All About Mont Redon – 500 years of History

The "Via Antiqua," the old Roman route to northern Gaul, once wound its way through the ancient vineyards of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Near its history-strewn path lay what are now the vineyards of Château Mont-Redon. The first mention of this vineyard, "Mons Retundus," later "Mourredon," meaning "round hill," appears in 1334 in a contract stipulating the vigneron's share of the harvest. Evidence of the vineyard appears sporadically over the next few centuries:

in 1570, it was part of the Barony of Lhers, and at the turn of the 1600s belonged to the Armenier family, who built a walled château in the middle of estate; this structure is mentioned again in 1693. By that time the estate had apparently come under the ownership of the church, but later, at some point prior to 1763, was purchased by an attorney and member of the family of the barons of Maufocon, Joseph Ignace Astier. Documents make specific reference to his "terres, vignes, olivettes, dit Mont-Redon" ("lands, vines and olive trees, called Mont-Redon").

Between 1828 and 1895, Mont-Redon belonged to the Mathieu family, descendants of the Astiers, one of whom, the poet Anselme Mathieu, printed the first decorative labels for his wines. Anselme Mathieu's mother, Claire Mathieu-Astier, had been given the estate by her father, whose financial ruin as a result of the French Revolution no longer permitted him to support it. Forty years after her husband's death, in 1856, Claire Mathieu-Astier died and the vineyard was divided among her six children. In October of 1923, Henri Plantin acquired some of the original parcels and began to reassemble the vineyard as it now exists. The third generation of his descendants, Jean and François Abeille and Didier Fabre, jointly own and manage the property today.

Château Mont-Redon is an estate of 330 acres, of which 200 are planted in vines. It is situated in the northwestern quadrant of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation on the high, stony plateau overlooking the Rhône River considered to be the finest microclimate of the region. Château Mont-Redon is the largest single-vineyard estate of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and one of only two in the entire appellation supporting plantings of all 13 grape varieties authorized under A.O.C. legislation regulating Châteauneuf-du-Pape. In addition to the principal estate, Mont-Redon also owns a 38-acre vineyard acquired at the beginning of the 1980s on the opposite bank of the Rhône at Roquemaure, under the Côtes-du-Rhône appellation.

Mont-Redon's extraordinary situation, at an altitude of 360 feet on Châteauneuf-du-Pape's highest elevation, is one of very few to include all three soils types found in the appellation. On the plateau's summit, covering approximately 150 acres, are the classic alpine diluvium soils consisting of a deep layer of large, round stones over a clay subsoil which draw the vine roots far into the earth to find a source of water. The stones also act as a natural incubator, absorbing the intense Mediterranean sun during the day and radiating heat at night into the grapes.

Planted in Grenache and Syrah, these soils lend structure and backbone to the fruit. At the foot of the plateau, sheltered sandy soils support the Mourvèdre and Cinsault vines, which in this environment develop richness and intense aromatic qualities. The plateau's slopes are composed of limestone pebbles which lend finesse and fruitiness to the white Grenache Blanc, Bourboulenc, Clairette, Roussane and Picpoul vines in which they are planted. The Côtes-du-Rhône vineyard, also lying on Urgonian limestone, is planted principally in Grenache with smaller proportions of Cinsault and Syrah. The vines of the Châteauneuf estate average 45 years of age, and replanting of new vines takes place amidst the older vines in order to moderate the former's growth and productivity. Careful maintenance of the vineyard age has resulted in a long-term average yield of only 30 hectolitres per hectare (135 cases per acre).

Given the extremely inhospitable nature of the terrain, traditional cultivation of the vineyard is arduous but the only method possible. At harvest, the grapes are hand-picked and sorted in the field. The red grapes mature more or less within a proscribed period, and offer the possibility of fermenting two or more varieties together; the white grapes mature at different points in time, and each variety is fermented separately. Among the region's most technically sophisticated facilities, Mont-Redon heavily tempers technology with tradition in its approach to vinification.

Following harvest, the red grapes are 90 to 95 percent destemmed and crushed, with fermentation ensuing through the action of natural yeasts in a combination of lined and stainless steel temperature controlled vats. The marriage of varieties in the vat is orchestrated to take advantage of the different characteristics of each type of grape and the ability of each to enhance the other. The technique is based on the liquid to solid ratio of each variety once crushed and the saturation point at which aromatic, colouring and tannic matter will cease to be extracted from the skin into the juice. For example, the first cuvée is normally comprised of 70 percent Grenache, 20 percent Syrah and 10 percent Mourvèdre.

Syrah yields intense expressions of colour, tannin and aromas with a high solid to liquid ratio; similarly, Mourvèdre is rich in aromatic, flavouring and structural elements. Grenache, with a lower solid to liquid ratio, is characterized by less pronounced expressions of colour and aroma. Combined in fermentation, the relatively dilute juice and less dense skins of the Grenache elevate the must's overall saturation point, allowing a more complete extraction of colour, tannin and aroma from the other two varieties. This results in a finished wine of greater depth, complexity and completeness than if the varieties were fermented separately.

Château Mont-Redon's superb "terroir," constant pursuit of quality and enviable reputation for excellence rank it among the great crus of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The philosophy of Jean and François Abeille and Didier Fabre is one which places the expression of the estate's extraordinary "terroir" first in wines vinified to exhibit deep, clean, intense fruit, ripe, balanced tannins and approachability without sacrifice of longevity.