Chante Cigale

Winemaker Alexandre is a mere 27 years-old, but when you ask him how long he has been making wine, he replies with a quirky smile “for 20 years, I was raised in the vineyard.” In actuality, he has been making the wines at the domaine for 7 or 8 years. At the very young age of twenty he took over as the head wine maker in his family's estate. There are three different soil types where Alexandre’s vines are planted – galets stones, sand, and a sandy galets stone mix. The message – it’s all about the terroir and everything you need to know about these wines begins in the vineyards.  He is in the vineyards year round and farms sustainably. Next, we went to the estate and tasted through the wines. Whites are important here and make up about 25% of Chante Cigale’s production. All of the wines produced by this estate are of a traditional and balanced style. Alexandre is clearly passionate about making wine and has that sort of crazed artist thing going on. He's only 27…the wines can only get better from here.

Chante Cigale has 50 hectares of vines: 40ha of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, 7ha of Vin de Pays and 3ha of Cotes du Rhone.

Wines

• Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2007
• Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc 2008
• Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes 2007
• Vin de Pays L'Apostrophe Blanc 2008
• Vin de Pays L'Apostrophe Rose 2009
• Vin de Pays L’Apostrophe Rouge 2008