La Bastide Saint Dominique
La Bastide Saint Dominique lies in the southern Rhône, midway between Avignon and Orange.
The domaine grew up around a sixteenth-century chapel and was founded in 1976 by Gérard and Marie-Claude Bonnet.
In 1999 their son Eric Bonnet took over from his parents, carrying the family tradition forward while bringing his own energy and a more modern outlook to it.
What began as a small estate has expanded over the years into an impressive fifty hectares, with vines spread across the appellations of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Côtes du Rhône, Côtes du Rhône Villages, Cairanne and Rasteau.
The vineyards enjoy a real diversity of soils: safres (a sandy soil) over limestone, red clay, and the galets roulés — the great rolled pebbles that are the signature of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation.
Each parcel of old vines therefore speaks with its own voice, and the range of wines reflects it.
The traditional varieties of the region are all here: Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Cinsault for the reds, Clairette and Roussanne for the whites.
Winemaking remains traditional in the pursuit of the best possible wine, even as the equipment around it has been modernised.
The grapes are handled with great care at harvest, sorted once in the vineyard and then a second time in the cellar.
The family controls every stage of production themselves, from tending the vines through vinification, bottling and sale, safeguarding both the character of the place and the identity of the domaine.