48 hours chez Maison Brotte by Emily Brighton MW

Touchdown. Upon landing in Marseille, we were promptly picked up by Maxence Moutet, export manager, and Thibault Brotte, sales director and 5th gen family member, and driven an hour or so to lunch in Cairanne. This set the culinary tone for the trip: foie gras, quasi de veau… comment dit, ‘epic’?!

After a glass of Crémant we tried our first Brotte wines – Creation Grosset Cairanne followed by Domaine Grosset Cairanne. The wines were showing great energy and structure, the pick of the two only coming down to personal preference (Creation for me). 

We then visited Brotte’s Cairanne vineyards, admiring the 50y/o vines whilst tasting tank samples of 2023 grenache (sweet red-fruits) and syrah (wild in a good way). 

Upon reaching picturesque Avignon, we checked into our hotel, conveniently located next to the historically significant Gothic Palais des Papes, and had a couple of hours to refresh and recuperate after the extremely early start. 

Dinner at Avenio was seriously, seriously good, and conversation flowed easily. After dinner, Maxence found us a bar for a nightcap (‘Get 27’ crème de menthe, anyone?) before we called it.

The morning of day two we ambled up to the attractively derelict castle ruins of Château de Bord at Laudun for a spot of history and photographs. As a new Cru this vintage, Laudun was a key point of interest, and it was all the more charming tasting in situ overlooking the vines. 

Only half the vineyard area has been given Laudun Cru status (1000ha) and the rest can now only be labelled CdR.

Both Laudun whites were very popular – Bord Elegance has firm acidity and a pleasant bitterness, whereas Château de Bord is a richer, viognier-dominant style. The Bord Elegance 2022 rouge was showing beautifully, everyone enjoying the unexpected level of freshness from the southern Rhône. This was accompanied by some olive breads typical of the region. 

Time for lunch! 

The panoramic views over Châteauneuf vineyards at Hostellerie du Château des Fines Roches, glass of sparkling in hand, are second to none. The bougie setting was matched with some equally bougie food – consensus was that life was very good indeed. There we tasted the robust Gigondas and Vacqueyras and supple Crozes Hermitage, which for current drinking pleasure was the favourite.

After lunch, we stopped at two of Brotte’s CNDP vineyards. Visiting the different vineyard areas helped contextualise the wine styles—the relatively cooler altitude of Laudun versus the baking heat of CNDP, complete with the textbook pudding stones.

We then visited the Brotte winery, where we met Thibault’s brother, Benoît, who oversees the winemaking, and did a tasting of the Barville wines in the cellar, including some 2023s from barrique (due to be bottled April/May 2025).

We were also given a blind bottle of Domaine Barville – 1972 (I guessed late 70s) – a significant year for the family – which was fun, if a bit tired. 

Harvest was in full swing, which definitely added to the atmosphere. Our group even provided a spot of free labour, dumping a few crates of grapes into the de-stemmer. 

We briefly visited the evocative castle of Chateauneuf du Pape to admire the views, before heading to the beautiful home of Laurent and Christine, where we were entertained royally, casually overlooking the castle, framed by the setting sun. 

On their patio, Thibault led an informal tasting of the rest of the Brotte wines, accompanied by local porcine delicacies. This was followed by an intense, lengthy game of pétanque, (northerners vs southerners – the latter claiming victory). It left us questioning whether Thibault and Max actually do any work or just spend their days practising… 

Of the wines, the quality and value of the Esprit Côtes du Rhône blanc and rouge shone through. The same can be said for the Baies Dorées Viognier. There was lots of love for the Tavel rosé too (not currently in the UK). We also had the chance to try their stellar Domaine Barville Roussanne as well as some more recent additions, such as the chillable Signature CdR – a cool concept.

On the itinerary we were scheduled to eat chez Brotte, however we strolled to a restaurant 5 mins away, where we enjoyed Dom Barville 2019 in magnum. Very pleasurable drinking.

Back in Avignon, we avoided the infamous ‘L’Esclave’ nightclub, opting instead for the ever-reliable Irish pub option. 

The final morning our visit to the museum didn’t transpire but the group was quite satiated after a chocka day two. All in all, an action-packed couple of days with Maison Brotte with plenty of great wines, food, and views.

P.S. Benoît Brotte’s vintage notes (mid-October)

The 2024 whites are showing excellent balance from long ripening with lots of acidity. Reds so far have been lower volume (in Laudun, bit more volume in Cairanne) but high quality, due to moderate temperatures leading to modest alcohol levels with lots of fruit expression and freshness. Châteauneuf is yet to be harvested and rain was due the weekend just gone so TBC what that will look like. The mistral winds have kept mildew at bay compared to other French regions. Organic certification is anticipated in 2025 for Châteauneuf and then Laudun, but for estate fruit only. 

Winemaking experiments this year include a blanc de noirs using Grenache, and a 100% Syrah to sit alongside the Viognier.