Chêne Bleu: Farming Like It's the Ninth Century

Nicole and Xavier Rolet bought a 900-year-old ruin in the hills above Provence and turned it into one of the Rhône's most talked-about wine estates, a property critics have called the world's first "Super Rhône." They built it inside a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve on Mont Ventoux, where wolves and wild boar walk through the vineyard at harvest and eat the grapes right off the vine. They still won't spray a single synthetic chemical.

Nicole and Xavier talk about what it actually costs to farm that way, the research that convinced them it was worth it, why their rosé can age for decades when the industry says it should be finished in a year, and the medieval love story behind the names of their two flagship reds, Abélard and Héloïse. It's a conversation about building something the slow, uncompromising way, on purpose.

LISTEN:
https://share.transistor.fm/s/075cc4bf

EPISODE PARTNERS:
Presented by InVintory. Download InVintory and enjoy wine the way it's meant to be. Code WINECENTRIC gets you 25% off a year of Premium.

We’re grateful for the support of our episode partners:

▪️Fearrington House: https://fearrington.com/

THE PREFERRED GLASS OF THE WINE CENTRIC SHOW

▪️Glasvin: Use code WINECENTRIC for 10% off: https://tidd.ly/41vgdSQ

KEYWORDS:
Chêne Bleu, Super Rhône, Nicole Rolet, Xavier Rolet, Rhône Wine, Provence Wine, Mont Ventoux, UNESCO Biosphere, Biodynamic Wine, Organic Wine, Regenerative Agriculture, Viognier, Grenache, Syrah, Rosé Wine, Fine Wine, Wine Education, Wine Podcast, In Vintory, Wine Collecting