Domaine du Banneret is a tiny 3.5-hectare family estate right in the heart of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, tracing its roots back to 1405, with the Bertet family coat of arms still appearing on the label. The modern domaine was founded in 1989 by Jean-Claude Vidal, a descendant of the Bertet family who left a career as an architect to learn winemaking from legendary local vignerons Jacques Reynaud and Henri Bonneau. His daughter Audrey joined in 2012 and has run the estate since 2014, producing only 13,000 bottles a year from vines averaging 70 years old.
This 2023 bottle carries the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation and follows the ancestral tradition of co-planting, growing all 13 permitted grape varieties together in the same rows rather than the modern practice of separating parcels by variety. The blend is roughly 60% Grenache, with Syrah and Mourvèdre rounding out the core, plus small amounts of the ten other permitted varieties. Grapes are hand-harvested at very low yields, co-fermented with native yeasts, and aged in Burgundy oak barrels for up to two years. Expect a complex, Provençal perfume of spiced black cherry, leather, and rose, with fine tannins and real elegance.
The result is a classic, old-school Châteauneuf built on genuine tradition rather than modern trends toward bigger, riper styles.