Vin Domaines La Roquete - Brunier

In September 1986, Rene Laugier wanted to retire but had no successors to take over La Roquette (as it was then known), his domaine in Chateauneuf-du-Pape. When Daniel and Frederic Brunier bought the domaine, it was a logical choice. The brothers had been proving their worth as rising young stars of the appellation, and the Brunier family, proprietor of Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe, had a long history of working tough soils - they farm the La Crau plateau, which boasts some of the most challenging vineyard terrain and most pedigreed soils of Chateauneuf.The 27 hectares of vineyards are located on a rocky plateau north of the village. They are planted with Grenache, Syrah,and Mourvedre and the average age of the vines is over 40 years old. A new winery was built in the mid 1990s and was first used for the 1998 vintage. The grapes are hand picked and are then fermented for 15-20 days in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. The wine remains in tanks for a further year before being transferred into oak casks where it is aged for a further 8 months. It is bottle unfined and unfiltered.