Domaine Richaud

Marcel Richaud, the emblem of Cairanne!

Welcome to the Cairanne appellation, where the Richaud family has been rooted for several generations. Known worldwide, this essential name of the Rhône Valley takes you on a journey through different terroirs. With 80 hectares and more than 45 harvests behind him, Marcel Richaud and his children have a real talent for working southern grapes and turning them into fresh, complex wines with exceptional fruit.
It’s high time to taste and understand their work!

The story of Domaine Richaud

The story begins in the 19th century, when Marie Constant married a certain Avi Richaud and they inherited a few hectares of vines. The war took Avi, and Marie found herself running the estate alone. In 1930, her son Raoul joined her to manage it. At the time, the grapes went to the Cairanne cooperative.
The story continued with Gaston. Becoming a winegrower was not his first choice, but after inheriting 15 hectares of vines through marriage, he accepted the obvious. Gaston was not passionate about vines, but he passed the passion on to his son Marcel.
In 1974, Marcel Richaud took over 14 hectares of family vines as a tenant, advised by other growers. More sensitive to the environment, he wanted to make his own wine rather than deliver his grapes to the cooperative. In the 1990s he converted the estate, in the Cairanne appellation, to organic farming, influenced by great names of natural wine such as Marcel Lapierre and Yann Rohel.
A revolutionary at heart, Marcel Richaud immediately set the course. Cairanne is his territory: he is an institution. He gradually expanded the estate with 15 more hectares as a tenant and 4 hectares of his own after his father retired. Marcel thinks big, but always with respect for his vines and his wines.
Today Domaine Richaud covers 80 hectares of vines, 75 of them in Cairanne and Rasteau. Marcel has been joined by his children, Claire and Thomas: a new generation that keeps the estate moving towards a bright future.

The cuvées of Domaine Richaud

The whole estate has been certified organic since 2008. Of these many hectares, about thirty are devoted to the Cairanne cuvées, the rest to Rasteau.
Since 2015, Claire and Thomas have carried the torch in the same spirit: producing, yes, but with the greatest respect for the environment and the vines.
The wines are substantial, fine, precise and above all incredibly fresh despite the warm climate. A must of the Rhône Valley, if you were still hesitating!
Marcel Richaud helped write the rules of the Cairanne appellation, limiting mechanisation, added sulphur and chemical weedkillers, which he applies himself across all his land.
In the Côtes du Rhône appellation, Terre d’Aigles comes from the first vines Marcel worked, on sandy soils: a sunny, concentrated wine, yet supple and fresh.
The Cairanne is the estate’s flagship, a blend of plots in the appellation, mostly on the upper part of the village: powerful and sunny, with harmonious tannins.
L’Ebrescade is the appellation’s emblematic cuvée: old vines on exceptional terroirs, low yields and 24 months in wood for a structured wine. A little patience for it to soften!
For whites, À la Source comes from new Mediterranean varieties recently planted on the estate, for a fresh, moreish wine. It also comes in red.
We have also enjoyed offering Terre de Galets, full of southern sunshine and spice, and a sulphur-free Cairanne.
If you don’t know natural wine, Côtes du Rhône or Cairanne, this is THE grower to try! The Rhône Valley’s must-have.