Domaine Ferrando

History

Saint-Préfert is where this story starts. The winery's history generally dates back to 1930, when it was established on land purchased by Fernand Serre in the early 1920s; it later became one of the first Southern Rhône wines to be exported to the United States.

Ferrando's path into the wine industry was not exactly straightforward. She left her career in banking and spent the entire 2001 season working under Dominique Ay at Domaine Raspail-Ay in Gigondas; from day one, Dominique Ay told her not to ask questions verbally but to write them down on paper. She kept her mouth shut throughout the harvest. It turned out to be a joke.

In 2002, she acquired Saint-Préfert from the Serre family, and 2003, a year marked by extreme heat, became her first vintage. That same year, Philippe Cambie joined as a consultant, and members of the Le Vieux Donjon family, including Lucien Michel, as well as Châteauneuf helped her settle into her role.

Domaine Ferrando followed in 2004, but production was intentionally kept separate due to differences in terroir. After that, even greater changes took place. Starting with the 2019 vintage, the individual single-vineyard Saint-Préfert red wines were consolidated into a single blend, and in 2020, the label name was changed to Famille Isabel Ferrando. Wine Spectator selected the 2022 vintage of Saint-Préfert red wine as one of the top 10 wines of that year.

Parcels in the hot south

When Ferrando acquired Saint-Préfert in 2002, the property included 13.2 hectares of vineyards. Domaine Ferrando started on a much smaller scale in 2004 by purchasing 3.9 hectares in the southern part of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Since then, she has acquired additional vineyards almost every year, and by 2014, her total holdings had grown to approximately 28 hectares.

Now, growth itself has become a challenge. Ferrando pointed out that when she first arrived here, the price per hectare of Châteauneuf vineyards was about 200,000 euros, but just over a decade later, the price had doubled, and there was almost no high-quality land available for sale, no matter what price was offered.

The original Saint-Préfert vineyard is located in the lieu-dit known as Les Serres, which is considered the hottest and driest corner of the appellation; it is planted with Grenache, Cinsault, and Mourvèdre. Colombis wine is produced from three lieu-dits: Cristia, Les Roues, and Colombis itself, and the Grenache vines here range in age from about 65 years to well over a century.

Terroir

Châteauneuf-du-Pape is famous for its galets roulés, smooth, rounded pebbles found on iron-rich clayey sand layers, and Saint-Préfert is rich in these pebbles. The soil here consists mainly of rock, gravel, and small stones, which is one of the reasons why the red wines from this region have such a full-bodied character.

Colombis is a different story. The clay-mixed sand and sandy soil of Châteauneuf tend to produce wines with a lighter structure and richer aromas than those produced from the gravel layers. It is precisely because of this contrast that Ferrando has maintained the two domaines separately rather than unifying all wines under a single label.

Heat is a constant factor. While Les Serres is extremely hot, what makes the wines from Famille Isabel Ferrando so interesting is just how much freshness survives even in that heat.

The grapes

The grape variety blend varies by vintage, which is common in appellations that allow for 13 varieties and permit growers to ferment them together or separately.

- Grenache forms the backbone of the red wine. The 2020 vintage of Saint-Préfert consisted of about three-quarters Grenache, blended with 12% Cinsault and 11% Mourvèdre.
- Colombis is 100% Grenache, with all grapes sourced from old vines.
- Syrah is used in some red blends alongside Grenache and Mourvèdre.

White wines are Clairette-led, followed by Roussanne; in 2021, the ratio was approximately 80:20, but in previous years it was closer to 60:40.

Cinsault deserves a separate mention. While it has fallen out of favor in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, it is still cultivated here.

Biodynamics, demi-muids and whole bunches

In 2013, the estate obtained full biodynamic certification. With the construction of a new wine cellar in 2009, Ferrando gained the space to manage each vineyard plot separately, not merely out of necessity.

The decision to use whole clusters is determined by the vintage rather than by strict rules. In 2009 and 2010, when the grapes ripened exceptionally well, Colombis was vinified entirely from whole clusters. In other years, the proportion of whole clusters was lower.

Although the white wine ferments in oak barrels, the oak aroma is only subtly perceptible in the finished wine. Vieilles Clairettes is an exception: it is aged in a single demi-muid (a large oak cask) and bottled exclusively in magnum bottles. James Molesworth has ranked this wine among the best whites in this appellation.

Furthermore, starting in 2019, the red wines that were previously bottled as separate single-vineyard cuvées (including Auguste Favier Réserve) are now released as a single blend. This marks a return to Châteauneuf's past practices, rather than a departure from them.

What the labels look like

Since both domain names are still printed on the bottles, it takes a little while to get used to them. Saint-Préfert Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge and Saint-Préfert Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc are this winery's signature wines, and the red wine is now blended exclusively from grapes grown in the Les Serres plot.

Below the Ferrando line are Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge and Colombis, F601 is another red wine from this winery.

In the white wine lineup, Cuvée Spéciale Vieilles Clairettes and Clairettes are released alongside the regular Blanc. For an appellation where white wines are often treated as secondary, this reflects a significant focus on a single grape variety.

As vineyard plots have been added and cuvées consolidated over the years, the product lineup has evolved; consequently, the wine currently bearing the name Famille Isabel Ferrando is not the same as the one produced in 2005.