Domaine La Garelle was created in 1995 and covers 28 hectares at the foot of the Luberon, 35 km east of Avignon, between the villages of Oppède and Ménerbes.
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It is a very special terroir, limestone, sandy and stony, on which the vine was already cultivated back in Gallo-Roman times.
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The Domaine La Garelle produces red, white and rosé wines in AOP Luberon and IGP Vaucluse.
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In 2008, the Domaine La Garelle was bought by Alain Audet, an agricultural engineer whose family is originally from the Luberon. As the owner-harvester of the 28 hectares of the estate, he pursues the hunt for quality, with a motivated and passionate team for whom hospitality and a warm welcome come naturally.
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The production of quality wines is the main objective of the estate. Since its establishment many medals have rewarded our daily work from the Concours des Vins in Paris, Mâcon and Orange. Its vintages are also cited and honoured in the "Hachette" and "Decanter" guides, and "Elle à Table" magazine.
Domaine La Garelle is known for its elegant and expressive wines.
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The evolution of the vineyard is driven by the choice of carefully analysed plots, and by planting grape varieties whose characteristics align with the profile of the wines we wish to produce (Syrah, Grenache, Vermentino, Chardonnay, Viognier, Roussanne), and by constant work on these vines to promote quality. This includes optimising the leaf surfaces, thinning the leaf cover, removing excess bunches and high trellising.
The cellars are now air-conditioned, a pneumatic press has replaced the mechanical press and new vats have been installed.
Our bottles have also changed their shape, with new labels with the grape bunch logo that now enhance the look of our range of wines.
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Domaine La Garelle has opened up to the world, exporting to China, Japan, Brazil, Poland, and European neighbours including Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
On Tuesday evenings over the summer, we host the now well-known ‘Sunsets Vignerons’. These evenings take you trough the vineyards and into the cellars, ending with a meal prepared by a local traiteur, with food and wine pairings from the estate.
In 2021, we were honoured to be chosen to organise the ‘Ciné-Vignes’ event: a wine tasting, a meal, and then a film shown out in the vineyard, under a starry sky.
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And we have plans for more: musical evenings, theatrical days or evenings, street performances at the weekends...
Vineyard and terroir
The northern slope of the Luberon massif dominates the vineyards of Domaine La Garelle.
The soils are composed of limestone, sand and clay.
Some plots are very stony (the word Garelle, in Provençal, means "small stony hill"). In the evening, they return the heat they stored during the day, and allow the development of all the finesse of the aromas of the grape varieties, in particular those of the Syrah.
The very contrasted climate of our terroir: two dry seasons (short in winter, very long and marked in summer) and two rainy seasons (in autumn with abundant and intense rain, and in spring) makes an exceptional asset for the cultivation of the vine.
The wide temperature variations (frequent frosts in winter, very hot and dry summers) and an average of 2700 hours of annual sunshine favour the creation of wines with a unique character, with a rich and varied palette of flavours.
The mistral wind helps to protect the vines from disease naturally, by ensuring a very
low average humidity.
The vines average an age of 25 in AOP Luberon (Protected Designation of Origin), and 15 in IGP Vaucluse (Protected Geographical Indication). The average yields are between 25 and 50 hectolitres per hectare.
The estate began its conversion to organic farming in September 2020.
