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Domaine Saint-Georges d'Ibry

Family estate founded in 1860 in Abeilhan, making red, rosé and white IGP Côtes de Thongue wines, with Syrah-led Cuvée 1860 as its main oak-aged red.

The producer

Domaine Saint-Georges d'Ibry is a family estate in Abeilhan, founded in 1860 on 40 hectares. Its wines carry IGP Côtes de Thongue and span red, rosé and white styles. Michel Cros led the estate from 1985 until 2019, when his son Jean-Philippe took responsibility. Farming is described as agriculture raisonnée, alongside an approach that joins traditional work, modern methods and environmental respect.

Excellence Rosé 2024 blends Syrah, Grenache and Cinsault, with a pale salmon colour, fruity candy and tart-fruit aromas, a round fresh palate, and stainless steel ageing that keeps the wine bright. Cuvée 1860 is made essentially from Syrah and aged for 12 months in oak. It is deep red, with dark and red fruit, vanilla and roasted notes, a silky, velvety palate, integrated oak, and a refined persistent finish. The white range is best read by vintage, since one listing names Chardonnay and Viognier while another also includes Sauvignon Blanc and Muscat Sec.

Known for

Syrah-led Cuvée 1860, aged for 12 months in oak, with dark and red fruit, sweet vanilla, roasted notes, a silky velvety palate and refined persistence.

Notable facts

The story

The 2019 handover

In 2019, Michel Cros passed responsibility for Domaine Saint-Georges d'Ibry to his son Jean-Philippe. Michel had led the domaine since 1985, guiding a family estate founded in 1860 and established on 40 hectares. The handover came after 34 years under his direction. The property remained a family-run estate in Abeilhan, producing red, rosé and white wines under IGP Côtes de Thongue. Michel's tenure is associated with a combination of tradition, modernity and environmental respect, and the farming is described as agriculture raisonnée. Jean-Philippe assumed leadership in 2019 at the same 40-hectare estate.

From the atlas

Domaine Saint-Georges d'Ibry

At A Glance

Domaine Saint-Georges d'Ibry is a family estate in Abeilhan, founded in 1860 on 40 hectares. Its IGP Côtes de Thongue range covers red, rosé and white wines. The contrast between Excellence Rosé 2024, aged in stainless steel, and the oak-aged, Syrah-led Cuvée 1860 gives the domaine its clearest shape in the glass.

The Producer

Domaine Saint-Georges d'Ibry began as a 40-hectare estate in 1860 and remains family-run across successive generations of winemakers. Michel Cros led the domaine from 1985 until 2019, when his son Jean-Philippe took responsibility. The family history is long, but the bottles are varied: the estate makes red, rosé and white wines under the IGP Côtes de Thongue designation.

Michel Cros's period at the domaine is associated with a combination of tradition, modern methods and environmental respect. That approach continues to define the estate's working language, while the available bottles show two distinct cellar choices: stainless steel for a fresh rosé and oak for a deeper Syrah-based red.

Place

Abeilhan is the home of the domaine, and IGP Côtes de Thongue is the designation carried by its red, rosé and white wines. The label therefore places the bottles within a broad regional category, while grape variety, colour and cellar method do the work of separating one cuvée from another. Excellence Rosé 2024 leans into a bright, immediate style; Cuvée 1860 takes a darker, oak-shaped path.

Soil And Site

The estate's documented site is its 40 hectares in Abeilhan. No verified description of the soil, slope or local microclimate accompanies the confirmed estate details, so the wines are best understood through the grapes named on individual bottles and the choices made after harvest. The rosé keeps its freshness in stainless steel, while Cuvée 1860 gains its vanilla and roasted register through 12 months in oak.

Story

The domaine's story moves through a clear family handover. Michel Cros took the lead in 1985 and carried the estate through 34 years of winemaking before passing responsibility to Jean-Philippe in 2019. The change happened within a property founded in 1860 and established on 40 hectares, linking one generation's stewardship to a long-running wine operation.

The available record does not assign a new style to Jean-Philippe after 2019. It does show an estate with continuity in its family ownership and variety in its wines, from a stainless-steel rosé designed around freshness to a Syrah-led red whose oak ageing shapes its perfume and palate.

Vineyards And Cellar

The estate describes its farming as agriculture raisonnée, an approach that places environmental consideration alongside vineyard work. Michel Cros's stated balance of tradition and modernity carries through to the cellar choices documented for the wines.

Excellence Rosé 2024 is aged in stainless steel tanks, protecting its pale colour, fruity aromatics and fresh, round palate. Cuvée 1860 spends 12 months in oak. Its dark fruit, vanilla and roasted notes lead into a silky, velvety mouth where the wine's fine substance is integrated with the barrel.

Wines

The confirmed range is organised first by colour. Red, rosé and white wines all appear under IGP Côtes de Thongue, giving the estate a broad set of styles rather than a single-colour speciality.

Excellence Rosé 2024 is a blend of Syrah, Grenache and Cinsault. Its pale salmon colour, fruity candy aromatics, tart-fruit lift, round palate and fresh finish place it in the immediate, summer-facing part of the range. Stainless steel keeps the wine's fruit and freshness in front.

Cuvée 1860 is composed essentially of Syrah and occupies the darker red-wine register. Deep colour, dark and red fruit, sweet vanilla, roasted notes, silky texture, velvety weight and a persistent finish all belong to its oak-aged profile. Excellence Blanc completes the three-colour range. Its blend requires attention to vintage: the 2021 listing names Chardonnay and Viognier, while a broader description also includes Sauvignon Blanc and Muscat Sec.

In The Glass

Excellence Rosé opens with a pale salmon hue and aromas that recall fruity candy and tart fruits. The Syrah, Grenache and Cinsault blend keeps the nose lively, while stainless steel ageing leaves the palate round and fresh. The finish stays bright and summery instead of turning heavy.

The white wine's blend changes the aromatic register toward a broader white-fruit and floral profile, with Chardonnay and Viognier confirmed for the 2021 release and Sauvignon Blanc and Muscat Sec present in the wider description. Cuvée 1860 begins with dark and red fruit beneath sweet vanilla and roasted notes. Oak ageing gives the mouth a silky, velvety feel, and the wine remains on the palate with refined persistence.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with Cuvée 1860. It is the domaine's Syrah-led red, deep red in colour with dark and violet reflections, and it spends 12 months in oak. In the glass, dark and red fruit sit beneath sweet vanilla and roasted notes; the palate is silky and velvety, with fine substance woven into the barrel instead of left as a separate oak flavour. The finish is persistent and refined. This bottle brings together the estate's clearest confirmed grape, ageing method, aroma profile and mouthfeel in one place.

Anecdote

In 2019, Michel Cros passed responsibility for Domaine Saint-Georges d'Ibry to his son Jean-Philippe. Michel had led the estate since 1985, taking over a family property founded in 1860 and established on 40 hectares. The handover joined two precise dates in the domaine's history: 34 years of Michel's stewardship and the beginning of Jean-Philippe's leadership. The estate remained a family operation making red, rosé and white wines under IGP Côtes de Thongue. Michel's work had been associated with tradition, modern methods and environmental respect, while the farming was described as agriculture raisonnée. Jean-Philippe assumed responsibility at the same domaine his father had carried through those decades.

Final Word

Domaine Saint-Georges d'Ibry offers a clear family history and a useful three-colour range. Excellence Rosé 2024 shows the freshness of stainless steel and a Syrah, Grenache and Cinsault blend. Cuvée 1860 shows how Syrah and 12 months in oak create a darker, silkier wine with a lasting finish.

Sources

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