Domaine de La Grange Des Pères
Languedoc Roussilon
Laurent Vaillé passed away on April 30, 2021. Our condolences to the Vaillé family.
Domaine de la Grange des Peres, founded in 1989 by Laurent Vaille, continues to be one of the most “cultish” wines of France. Located in the appellation of Vin de Pays de l’Herault within Languedoc along the Provence border, Grange de Peres is beloved for the blending of Syrah, Mourvedre and Cabernet Sauvignon. This extreme location along the gorges of l’Herault creates a very windswept vineyard that is cooled by the winds flowing south just like in the Rhone Valley.
It was not on a lark that Laurent Vaille chose this location for his winery. Years prior Laurant was an apprentice for Jean-Francoise Coche of Domaine Cohe-Dury, Gerard Chave of Domaine Chave, and Eloi Durrbach of Domaine Trevallon. With encouragement from Eloi Durrbach and an appreciation for limestone-based soils, Laurent made the decision to create Grange des Peres in l’Herault on a property his grandfather owned on the edge of Aniane west of Montpellier.
From his time working with Chave and Trevallon, Laurent was permitted to take cuttings from the vineyards to create his own massale-selection at Granges des Peres. The Syrah came from Chave and the Cabernet Sauvignon from Trevallon. Domaine Tempier, Chateau Beaucastel and Domaine Gauby provided the Mourvedre. Much like Durrbach at Trevallon, Laurent was creating a vineyard from scratch clearing massive amounts of rock, galets, and boulders in the chalky-limestone based slopes.
The Vaillé family is deeply attached to their Aniane’s terroir, and they know exactly how to unlock its full potential by constant work in the vineyards and keeping low yields (20-25 hl/ha). The total production is tiny (2,500-3,000 cases annually).
The Domaine produces two wines:
- Vin de Pays de l’Hérault Blanc: a blend of 80% Roussanne, 10% Marsanne and 10% Chardonay (1 hectare). The blending is done before putting the wines into barrel for the malolactic fermentation.
- Vin de Pays de l’Hérault Rouge: a blend of 40% Syrah, 40% Mouvèdre, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Counoise (Total planted area: 9 hectares). The various varieties are harvested and vinified separately and aged in barrels. Blending is done only before settling and bottling.
