In 1994, Xavier, French but living and working in London, was searching high and low for a little corner of viticultural paradise where he could escape to nature and recharge. He came across La Verrière, an abandoned vineyard near the border of Provence and the Southern Rhône.

He fell in love with the rugged beauty of the site and was compelled by what we now call “the Fantastic Four” of exciting winemaking factors that converged there: amazing altitude, generous geology, huge history and idyllic isolation. While the risk was enormous, he dreamt to revive the neglected vineyards... inspired by his cousins’ family tradition of winemaking in the Jura, and a conviction that he had finally discovered a truly unique property.

Originally a 9th century priory surrounded by vineyards, the estate La Verrière housed Knights Templar, a renowned 15th century glass blower and other hard-working folk for centuries but then became trapped in an inheritance feud and disregarded for decades in the twentieth century.

Sometime after its purchase, Xavier invited Claude and Lydia Bourguignon, the world’s leading microbiologists of living soils, to evaluate the property. They found that the tectonic activity and erosion over time had created soils (mostly clay and chalk limestone) with distinctive mineral character ideal for grape growing. Neighbor Philippe Cambie —the noted oenologist from Châteauneuf-du-Pape, who would eventually join the project as an advisor— also echoed the other experts’ belief in the vineyard’s exceptional potential and encouraged the building of a winery.

The project became a family affair in 1997, when Xavier’s sister Bénédicte and brother-in-law, Jean-Louis, became resident viticulturist and winemaker, respectively. Xavier’s wife Nicole also joined the team to begin work on the commercial side of the business. The gravity-fed winery was completed in 2005 and the first official vintage bottled under the name Chêne Bleu was released in 2006.

This encourages vine roots to dig deeply for water and nutrients, ultimately capturing the strong minerality of the soil. Millions of years ago, when the European and African continental plates collided, a process called subduction caused one tectonic plate to slide under the other, pushing its edge upwards. This created the Mt Ventoux and its foothills and exposed long-buried strata of Jurassic and Triassic-era soils, some of which run right through our vineyards. We intentionally plant and harvest in line with these strata, and small-batch winemaking allows us to feature the effects of these ancient soils on our fruit.

At the time of purchase, the vineyard was planted with 25-30 year-old vines, mainly Grenache and Syrah. Each vine was carefully evaluated and preserved whenever possible. Additional Grenache and Syrah plantings were made with cuttings from existing vines over the following decade. We have also introduced new vineyard plantings of traditional Rhône varietals such as Roussanne, Marsanne, Viognier, Clairette and Mourvèdre, and our most recent addition Rolle (Vermentino).

Hand-picking and double sorting results in deliberately tiny yields. Grapes from each plot are vinified separately in small oak and stainless-steel tanks before blending to ensure meticulous nurturing of the grapes at every stage. The reds and whites then undergo up to two years aging in Burgundian oak barrels followed by several years ageing in bottle before release.

Super Premium Vins de Pays

The estate lies across both Rhône and Provence appellations (four, in total). Rather than follow the subdivisions of the appellation system, which might not address the specificities of our high-altitude vineyards, we made the decision to classify most of our wines as IGP Vaucluse, in order to have full artistic freedom to produce the very best wines possible from our terroir, using both traditional and modern techniques.

Akin to the “Super Tuscans”, whose winemakers aim to innovate outside of the appellation system to create new generation of quality wine, Chêne Bleu has been referred to by the press as the "world's first Super Rhône", as we explore new winemaking potential for the traditional grapes of our region.

Visitors to La Verrière are greeted by our mighty blue oak tree, or chêne bleu. In 2005, the tree suffered in a drought. Noted Provençal tree sculptor Marc Nucera transformed it into a stunning piece of natural art, “painting” the trunk and branches with the blue-green bouillie bordelaise (Bordeaux mixture), a protective solution used in organic vineyards.

This Chêne Bleu, our blue oak tree, became a symbol for the entire project, reflecting our desire to protect and preserve the history of this naturally beautiful site while highlighting and enhancing that beauty.

We really appreciate it when people make the journey up the mountain to find us in our secluded hide-away, and we enjoy hosting events and activities all year long. We welcome visitors for guided tours and tastings, available in both French and native English. Seeing that once people find us they often don’t want to leave, we brought in an award-winning chef, who offers several lunch options daily under a vine-covered terrace, using ingredients from our own organic and ethically-grown vegetable garden, which are paired with our Chêne Bleu wines. Click here for more on our tasting room: visit.chenebleu.com

La Verrière, our restored medieval priory-turned ecoluxury guesthouse and events venue, now welcomes guests for professional retreats, workshops and family celebrations. Up to 18 can be accommodated in four suites and three double guest rooms. Our professional chef offers regional cuisine served in a medieval dining room along with several al fresco settings overlooking the undulating vineyards. For more information: www.laverriere.com

Our motto is Non Mihi, Non Tibi, sed Nobis (Not Mine, Not Yours, but Ours). Passionate about sharing our knowledge, while continuing to learn so much ourselves, we've created in partnership with the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) a wine course often reviewed as the most intensive and effective of its kind in the world. This six-day course, referred to as the Chêne Bleu Extreme Wine Experience, covers all the main regions, varietals and benchmark wines from around the world. It combines classroom teaching and hands-on practice through tasting, precision pairing, winery and vineyard work, trips to iconic wineries, and private dinners with top producers. It is open to enthusiasts of all knowledge levels. More information is available at [www.chenebleuextremewine.com].