Famille Alain Jaume

The story

The 1979 cellar on the road to Châteauneuf-du-Pape

In 1979, Odile and Alain Jaume continued a family wine-growing tradition that began in Châteauneuf-du-Pape in 1826 and created Domaine Grand Veneur. Their first vineyard covered nine hectares. They built the estate’s cellars just outside Orange, on the road to Châteauneuf-du-Pape, establishing a named domaine with its own vineyard and cellar base. In the years that followed, the estate expanded into several AOP Châteauneuf-du-Pape and AOP Côtes du Rhône wines. Alain remains involved in the business, while Christophe leads winemaking and Sébastien leads sales and marketing. The cellars stand just outside Orange on the road to Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

From the atlas

Famille Alain Jaume

At A Glance

Famille Alain Jaume is a Rhône wine-growing family with roots in Châteauneuf-du-Pape reaching back to 1826. Domaine Grand Veneur, created by Odile and Alain Jaume in 1979, began with nine hectares and grew into a wider portfolio of AOP Châteauneuf-du-Pape, AOP Côtes du Rhône and Vacqueyras wines. Low yields, hand harvesting and selective sorting shape the reds, which pair sweet fruit with southern Rhône warmth and spice.

The Producer

Domaine Grand Veneur began with a nine-hectare vineyard in 1979, when Odile and Alain Jaume gave the family’s long wine-growing history a named estate and its own cellar base. The family now produces several Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Côtes du Rhône wines, alongside Vacqueyras Grande Garrigue and other bottles across the southern Rhône.

Alain Jaume remains involved in the business. His son Christophe leads winemaking, while Sébastien leads sales and marketing. That division keeps the estate’s history visible in the cellar and gives the current range a clear family line, from Grenache-led Châteauneuf-du-Pape to more direct Côtes du Rhône reds.

Place

Châteauneuf-du-Pape is the family’s historical home and the appellation attached to Le Miocène, a red blend of Grenache noir, Syrah and Mourvèdre. The wider range follows the label: Côtes du Rhône Haut de Brun gives a medium-bodied red with silky tannins, while Vacqueyras Grande Garrigue brings Grenache, Syrah and old Cinsault into a fuller, savoury style.

The appellation names separate the bottles before the first pour. Châteauneuf-du-Pape carries the family’s deepest geographical link, Côtes du Rhône offers a more direct expression, and Vacqueyras sits between those roles with its own blend and ageing profile.

Soil And Site

No soil composition is named for the individual parcels. The physical markers are clear elsewhere: the first Domaine Grand Veneur vineyard covered nine hectares, and the cellars were built just outside Orange on the road to Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The estate’s site story therefore begins with a defined cellar base and a vineyard connection to the appellation at the heart of the family history.

Story

The Jaume family’s wine-growing begins in Châteauneuf-du-Pape in 1826. More than a century later, Odile and Alain Jaume created Domaine Grand Veneur in 1979, starting with nine hectares and building cellars near Orange. Over time, the estate expanded into several AOP Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Côtes du Rhône wines.

The family has kept the business moving through shared roles. Alain remains involved, Christophe directs winemaking and Sébastien handles sales and marketing. The change from one nine-hectare beginning to a wider southern Rhône range appears in the bottles, with appellation, grape blend and cellar method separating each wine.

Vineyards And Cellar

The vineyards are farmed with low yields, hand harvesting and selective sorting. Green harvesting is used to optimise cluster exposure, while organic viticulture is in place in two of the family’s vineyards. Across the properties, vine health remains the stated priority. These choices reduce the crop before it reaches the cellar and give selection a practical role at harvest.

Le Miocène ferments at 30°C for 18 to 20 days before maturing in vats and oak casks. Grande Garrigue spends 14 months in concrete vats and three-year-old barrels. The first wine uses a longer fermentation and mixed vessel ageing for a dark, full-bodied red; the second keeps concrete and older barrels in view alongside fresh black fruit, dried herbs and smooth tannins.

Wines

Le Miocène Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red is composed of 70% Grenache noir, 20% Syrah and 10% Mourvèdre. Its range position comes through blackberry, liquorice and forest floor, with full body, a rich smooth texture and a lasting finish. The blend gives the wine dark fruit and savoury depth without reducing it to one grape.

Vacqueyras Grande Garrigue is made from Grenache, Syrah and old Cinsault. Fourteen months in concrete vats and three-year-old barrels precede bottling. Fresh black fruit sits beside meaty and dried-herb notes, while rich tannins are softened by the wine’s smooth palate.

Côtes du Rhône Haut de Brun works at a more direct scale. Raspberry, blackcurrant and blackberry lead into liquorice and white pepper, and silky tannins carry its medium-bodied finish. Across these bottles, the family’s southern Rhône register stays visible through ripe fruit, warmth and spice.

In The Glass

The range opens with ripe fruit, then moves toward savoury detail and spice. Le Miocène rises from the glass with blackberry and liquorice, followed by forest-floor notes. Its full body fills the palate, while the rich, smooth texture carries dark fruit into a lasting finish.

Grande Garrigue changes the sequence through fresh black fruit, meat and dried herbs. Concrete and older barrels frame a palate where rich tannins meet smoothness. Haut de Brun feels more open and medium-bodied, with raspberry and blackcurrant first, blackberry and white pepper next, and silky tannins at the close.

The shared thread is sweet fruit held inside the warm, spicy register of the southern Rhône. Appellation, blend and vessel decide whether that fruit arrives as dark and full, savoury and rounded, or lighter on its feet.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with Châteauneuf-du-Pape Le Miocène Red. The blend is 70% Grenache noir, 20% Syrah and 10% Mourvèdre, fermented for 18 to 20 days at 30°C and matured in vats and oak casks. In the glass, blackberry and liquorice move into forest floor, full body and a rich smooth texture before a lasting finish.

It brings the family’s Châteauneuf-du-Pape starting point, Grenache-led blending and cellar work into one bottle. The wine has enough fruit to feel immediately generous, while Syrah, Mourvèdre and oak ageing add savoury depth around the Grenache core.

Anecdote

In 1979, Odile and Alain Jaume decided to continue the family’s wine-growing tradition by creating Domaine Grand Veneur. Their first vineyard covered nine hectares. They then built the estate’s cellars just outside Orange, on the road to Châteauneuf-du-Pape, turning a family history that began in 1826 into a named domaine with its own vineyard and cellar base. The estate expanded over the following years into several AOP Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Côtes du Rhône wines. Alain remains involved in the business, with Christophe leading winemaking and Sébastien leading sales and marketing.

Final Word

Famille Alain Jaume connects a Châteauneuf-du-Pape beginning with a broader southern Rhône range. The clearest route through it is Le Miocène, where Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, dark fruit and smooth full body meet in a single bottle.

Sources

• https://www.vignobles-alain-jaume.com/en/domaines/4-domaine-grand-veneur
• https://www.bibendum-wine.co.uk/producers/alain-jaume/
• https://www.kysela.com/producers/alain-jaume-grand-veneur.html
• https://www.vignobles-alain-jaume.com/en/domaine-grand-veneur/12-wine-chateauneuf-du-pape-red-le-miocene.html
• https://www.vignobles-alain-jaume.com/en/alain-jaume/18-wine-vacqueyras-red-grande-garrigue.html