This 40-hectare property has been run by Fabrice Arcari since 2006. It is located just outside Aix-en-Provence, near the town of Châteauneuf-Le-Rouge. The name of the town refers to the red soil of the land.
Chateau de la Galiniere is the site of a magnificent 18th Century château dominating the plains of the Cengle plateau. Pope Pius VII slept twice in this château. There is a plate in the heart of the chapel, bearing the Holy Pontiff’s coat-of-arms which mentions the dates: 5th August 1809 and 7th February 1814.
The estate benefits from an excellent location on a well exposed slope that blocks the mists. The Cengle and the slopes that it overhangs protects the estate from the Northern winds, and the two hills situated in front of the slope limit the assault of the Mistral and Eastern winds. Open to the South, the estate enjoys winter sunshine and mild temperatures.
The winery covers 99 acres, producing Syrah, Grenache, Cinsault, Cabernet Sauvignon, Vermentino & Viognier. The estate has been certified organic since the 2014 harvest and uses no pesticides. The vine is grassed one row out of two and plowing is done mechanically between the vines. The pruning occurs between December and March. Budburst occurs rather early in March, as is the typical vegetative cycle in the South of France. Debudding occurs from April to May to regulate the yield of the vine; trellises are raised in May so that vines capture the maximum sunshine. If necessary, a green harvest is carried out.
The harvest takes place at the end of August or beginning of September, depending on the vintage. It is done mechanically in the cool temperatures (between 4am and 9am) in order to bring fresh grapes into the cellar and eliminate the necessity to cool the juice (energy saving and respect of the product). The harvest is directly sorted by the grape harvester, to transfer only the grapes into the vats (the stalks and other impurities of the harvest are eliminated).
Fabrice Arcari ensures a constant monitoring of the quality by analyzing and tasting at all the stages of the wine making. Vinification is traditional.
