The discovery of a Neolithic cemetery near the village indicates that people have lived in Cairanne since at least 2000 B.C. The vines were first cultivated during the Middle Ages under the aegis of the Templars and then the Hospitaliers de Saint-Jean-de Jérusalem and 14th century decrees mention vineyards in the area. By the early 15th century there are known to have been about 40 HA planted with vines. The wines were also highly regarded and in 1817 wine from Cairanne sold for 35 francs per HL, which was higher than Châteauneuf du Pape at 30 francs!

Wines  Éric's Cairanne, made from 60 year old Grenache and 30 year old Mourvèdre vines, is a forceful, big, mouth filling wine of a rich, purple-red color. Featuring a peppery, rich nose with blackcurrant fruit flavors this is a rounded, elegant and fleshy wine that will continue to improve in the cellar.

Vineyards   Éric's Cairanne comes from two vineyards, right next to each other, one planted with Grenache, the other with Mourvèdre. The rows are spaced at 1.5 meters and the vines are on average 40 years old. The Grenache is gobelet trained (head pruned) but the Mourvèdre is trellised. The vineyards are located 2 km south of the town of Cairanne on the southern edge of the A.O.C

Terroir  Located 20 kilometers east of Orange, the Cairanne vineyards are in a very rocky soil of limestone and silica. The soil sits atop a base of ancient sandstone and is very poor supporting only vines and olive trees. The climate is Mediterranean with the exception that le mistral will blow her brutal gusts.

Côtes du Rhône Villages  In 1953 four villages in the Southern Rhône were making wines considered to be of higher quality than those usually produced under the generic Côtes du Rhône label. These four villages - Cairanne, Laudun, Chusclan and Gigondas were not considered to be ready for full appellation status (like those of Châteauneuf du Pape, Côte Rotie, Hermitage, etc.) but were certainly superior to the many Côtes du Rhône wines produced. Therefore the INAO (National Institute of Appellations of Origin) decided that if these villages followed agreed upon rules they would create a new status to identify their higher quality wines. Rules were laid out that governed grape varieties, yields per hectare and the minimum alcohol strength of their red wines raised from 11% to 12.5%. Producers following these rules were then allowed to market their wine as Côtes du Rhône - "Cairanne" for example and therefore to promote the distinctive characteristics of their local terroir. After two additional villages joined this illustrious group (Vacqueyras in 1955 and Vinsobres in 1957) a common title was created in 1967 to apply to all of the wines: Côtes du Rhône Villages. Today there are 16 villages with this status

CÔTES DU RHÔNE VILLAGES
Cairanne 2001

2001 began with a mild winter that was followed by a warm and wet spring with above average temperatures. Flowering started towards the beginning of May and June and July continued to be warm with heavy rainfall in July. August was hot and dry with temperatures reaching 33°C resulting in the grapes reaching a good maturity. September brought le mistral, which continued for nearly 2 weeks. Harvest commenced in mid September with the Grenache and finished with the Mourvèdre the 3rd week of September.

The 2001 Cairanne is a full, round perfectly structured wine with a nose of pepper, small black fruit, burnt spices and a hint of amaretto.

© 2003 Éric Texier