Walls’ hidden gems: Domaine Richaud, Cairanne

Whenever I visit Domaine Richaud, just outside the village of Cairanne, the winemaking team remind me of friends I made at free parties in the 1990s in fields and disused warehouses. I’m not talking dreadlocks and dogs on strings, but there’s always an anarchic frisson in the air. You get the impression they know how to enjoy themselves.

Perhaps it’s to be expected, given the radical furrow Marcel Richaud has ploughed. He’s approaching 70 now, but still thrums with pent-up energy, his ice-blue eyes as bright as ever.

When I arrived at his winery, he was surprised to hear who I was writing for. ‘Decanter? Well, you better like natural wines!’.

Scroll down to see Matt Walls’ tasting notes and scores for eight Domaine Richaud wines

I must admit I’m not really concerned if a wine is natural or not. I’m simply interested in authentic, enjoyable wines with something to say. And there are always plenty of wines like that at this address.

Leading the way

Marcel took over his father’s vines at the age of 17 and was one of the first to make natural wines in the southern Rhône, along with Michèle Aubéry of Domaine Gramenon and Guy Julien of La Ferme Saint-Martin.

‘We were taken for Don Quixotes at the time,’ says Marcel, but since then many more have adopted their methods.

He’s grown the family estate significantly over the years to a whopping 80ha of terrain in and around Cairanne and Rasteau, 70ha of which is under vine. It’s a huge surface to farm biodynamically – and imagine picking all that by hand.

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Production methods

In the cellars of some natural winemakers, the first topic is sulphur dioxide – but not here. For Marcel, there’s a greater enemy.

‘Never excess extraction, it’s the fundamental thing’, he says, and his maceration times vary between eight and 12 days – a third of the length of some of his neighbours. Perhaps this is what makes his wines so drinkable, despite their concentration.

Minimal intervention in the winery is a noble aim; it can both help and hinder the expression of terroir. At Domane Richaud it is usually a positive.

Marcel doesn’t add tartaric acid, water or yeast, and the wines are bottled unfiltered and unfined. It makes for a very candid expression of the place. No sulphur is added until bottling, and then only small amounts. Sometimes none at all.

The hands-off approach – the benefits outweigh the risks

Working with minimal sulphur is a dangerous game. There are risks: the wines can be marked by unwelcome yeasts or bacteria that create flavours that, while not always unpleasant, can cover up the taste of the place and grape. But get it right and wines can be brighter, with a sense of plenitude, energy and immediacy. Marcel is more adept than most, and more often than not he reaps rewards.

At their best, his wines are the distilled essence of the Provençal landscape. They embrace the totality of their southern identity: sun-warmed, dark in colour, rich in flavour and alcohol. They ring with the song of the cicada. I love them for their drama, energy and the unconditional love of where they’re from.

The wine range

The Cairannes, particularly L’Ebrescade from a 300m vineyard near the border with Rasteau, brim with ripe black olives, bay leaves, late-season blackberries and dusty thyme.

The Rasteau – half Grenache, half Carignan – is sticky with fig paste.

He often plays with creating new cuvées, both from estate fruit and some purchased grapes. The Côtes-du-Rhônes and Vin de France bottlings punch well above their weight. These wines are never thin.

In part this is thanks to embracing local varieties. His excellent Côtes-du-Rhône, Terre des Galets, contains almost as much Counoise and Carignan as it does Grenache and Syrah. He’s planting more Counoise in fact, along with Cinsault and Muscardin.

The future of Domaine Richaud

Marcel is taking a step back now. He has stood up for his vision and successfully fought his corner. His son Thomas is taking over the production and his daughter Claire is now responsible for the commercial side.

They’ve inherited his piercing blue eyes – and I hope his rebellious spirit, the source of such brilliant wines.

See Matt Walls’ tasting notes and scores for eight Domaine Richaud wines:

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