Domaine les Ondines
Domaine les Ondines
【A grower who draws out everything Vacqueyras has to give】
Les Ondines sits on the garrigue plateau at Sarrians, looking straight out at the Dentelles de Montmirail with the western flank of Mont Ventoux at its back.
At the heart of the Vacqueyras appellation, viticulture here is governed by the caprices of the Mistral.
Gusts of 100 to 120 km/h are nothing out of the ordinary in this corner of the Rhône.
Many of the rows are planted along the line of the wind as a result, which makes working sustainably a delicate business.
The climate is dry, and managing the water held in the soil is critical.
Geologically the plateau was formed by Mindel alluvium: mostly sandy gravel and stone, with the clay content varying from parcel to parcel.
The domaine now farms 57.5 hectares in the Rhône, making wines in four appellations as well as red, white and rosé Vacqueyras and olive oil from Beaumes-de-Venise.
Since the cellar was built in 2003, the estate has come a very long way.
The first white plantings, put in between 2002 and 2005, have now reached maturity and give a Vacqueyras Blanc of real complexity and balance.
Mourvèdre planted from 2016 has found its way into the Vacqueyras Rouge blends, and above all into the M range.
The conversion to organic farming came in 2009, though it changed little in daily practice.
The spirit of it was already there. What certification brought, alongside experience and greater precision in the work, was another clear step up in quality.
New plantings between 2012 and 2017 have left their mark, most visibly on the whites.
Over the three years that followed, a further ten hectares of Vacqueyras vines were added.
Among them are 2.5 hectares of Clairette and Roussanne. In 2015 fresh Clairette went into La Plage, a beautiful sandy Vacqueyras parcel.
In the search for the finest terroir, seven hectares of clay-limestone strewn with rounded stones now grow quite superb Grenache.
The sandy terroirs of Beaumes-de-Venise joined the estate in 2015, opening the way to new wines, an elegant Muscat among them.
