Ampuis domaine making named Côte-Rôtie wines with whole bunches, variable destemming and extended French oak ageing.
The producer
Domaine Garon farms vines in Côte-Rôtie from Ampuis, with vineyard work done by hand, horse and tractor and chemical treatments reduced to the strict minimum. In the cellar, grapes are crushed as whole bunches, with destemming changed by vintage and vineyard. The wines age in French oak. Named Côte-Rôtie cuvées include Le Combard, Lancement, Les Triotes, Sybarine and Les Rochins, alongside bottles from other Rhône appellations.
Known for
Côte-Rôtie Syrah and whole bunches
Notable facts
The Garon family's wine history is traced to Guillaume Garon in 1475.
The domaine owns five hectares of vines in Côte-Rôtie.
Vineyard work uses hand, horse and tractor methods, with chemical treatments reduced to the strict minimum.
Grapes are crushed as whole bunches, with destemming varied by vintage and vineyard.
Wines age 18 to 24 months in an average of 30% new French oak, with the remainder in barrels that are five years old.
The story
From Fallow Ground To Bottles
In 1982, the Garon family began planting and replanting vineyards on land that had gone fallow. The work was quite an undertaking, because the ground had been left idle before the family returned it to vines. The replanting came before the modern era that began in 1995, when Domaine Garon started bottling and selling its own wine. The episode runs from fallow vineyard land to a domaine putting its own wine into bottles, with the family responsible for both stages.
From the atlas
Domaine Garon
A Northern Rhône domaine with hand worked vineyards, named Côte-Rôtie wines and whole bunch cellar work.
At A Glance
Field
Detail
Region
Northern Rhône
Home village
Ampuis
Grape in Le Combard
Syrah
Named bottle
Domaine Garon Côte-Rôtie Le Combard 2022
Defining feature
Hand, horse and tractor vineyard work, whole bunch crushing and French oak ageing
The Producer
At Domaine Garon, vineyard work is done by hand, horse and tractor, with chemical treatments reduced to the strict minimum. The domaine owns five hectares of vines in Côte-Rôtie. Kevin and Fabian Garon manage the family operation. In the cellar, grapes are crushed as whole bunches, with destemming changed by vintage and vineyard, then aged in French oak. The domaine's work joins physical vineyard labour to extended barrel ageing.
Place
Ampuis is the home village, and Côte-Rôtie is the core appellation. The name belongs to red wines from the Northern Rhône, so the estate's central bottles carry a place name alongside a separate cuvée name. Côte-Rôtie sits at the centre of the range, while other bottles use different Rhône appellation names.
Wines
The Côte-Rôtie group includes Le Combard, Lancement, Les Triotes, Sybarine and Les Rochins. Domaine Garon Côte-Rôtie Le Combard 2022 is made from 100% Syrah. The wider range includes Côtes du Rhône La Part des Vivants, Hermitage Colysée, Crozes-Hermitage Around the Rhône, Syrah de Seyssuel Jardins de Rome, Condrieu La Vieille Maison and Saint-Joseph Agricolis. The bottles cover red and white wines across several Rhône appellations, with named Côte-Rôtie cuvées at the centre.
Final Word
Domaine Garon combines Côte-Rôtie vineyard work, changing whole bunch handling and extended French oak ageing with a range that reaches across several Rhône appellations.