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THE DOMAINE

HISTORY & DEVELOPMENT

HISTORY & DEVELOPMENT

The old village of Cairanne clings to the summit of a rocky outcrop which looks out over vines that stretch as far as the eye can see. It is known as the “Belvedere of the Côtes-du-Rhône”. Vines have been cultivated in the Rhone Valley for over 2000 years, first by the Greeks and then the Romans who were responsible for the development of the vineyards. Numerous vestiges of an ancient Gallo-roman villa have been discovered at Cairanne. The name of our estate is a reference to this heritage, associating two Latin words… Gallus, for cockerel, and Uva, for grape, resulting in Galuval, the cockerel that is proud of its vines. Domaine de Galuval is one of the oldest wine-producing estates in Cairanne. It was founded in 1923 by the Marchal family, who pioneered a more qualitative approach by making and bottling their own wines.

AROUND CAIRANNE

Domaine de Galuval stretches over 49 hectares in Cairanne and Rasteau. Our cube-shaped winery sits on the edge of Cairanne in the direction of Rasteau. Those two villages have been classified as Cru des Côtes du Rhône, a very prestigious and exclusive PDO,  since 2010 for Rasteau and 2016 for Cairanne. 

Cairanne and Rasteau offer a unique panorama of the spectacular geography and geology of the southern Rhone Valley, and possess a rare concentration of varied and very distinct geological terroirs. The three principal ones are: the MONTAGNE DE VENTABREN, with its bright, sunny, slopes, the vast terraces of the GAYÈRE VALLEY, and the rolling green COLLINES DE RASTEAU.

Three geologically unique terroirs

Domaine de Galuval is lucky enough to cover all three of these unique, diverse, and particularly complex terroirs of Cairanne and Rasteau. Contrary to the common trend of smoothing out the diversity of the terroirs to correspond more closely to the appellation profile, we wanted each of them to fully express their individuality.

THE GAYÈRE VALLEY

Situated south of the village of Cairanne, the Gayère valley is renowned for the freshness of its marbled clay soils. South of the road between Cairanne and Rasteau, this terroir is made up of fine colluvions rich in moisture-retaining silt. Gravel and stones are rare. The clay is marbled, with abundant limestone nodules and pseudomycelia, forming substrata that offer significant nourishment for the vines.

THE MOUNT VENTABREN

The Mount Ventabren is one of the finest terroirs in Cairanne. It covers the highest point of the village, at 320 metres altitude. To reach it, one has to cross the village in the direction of Saint-Roman-de-Malegarde, to the north, and embark upon a narrow road that winds its way up into the hillside amongst magnificent parcels of vines. Carved out of the rock by the force of erosion, Miocene limestone scree scattered with flintstone alternates with lacustrian marl. It is a terroir that creates complex, beautifully fresh aromas in the wines.

THE HILLS OF RASTEAU

The Hills is one of the major terroirs of Rasteau. Here the soils are composed of stony colluvial deposits from the Quaternary period, on a bed of marl in varying proportions. The presence of marl produces grapes of great quality that give fruity and well-balanced wines whose finesse of tannins is due to the often-abundant clay. Situated to the west of the village in the direction of Cairanne, This Hills are distinctive for their proximity to the Gayère river that allows the red grape varieties, particularly Mourvèdre, to develop remarkable expression.

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