Our Story
A former religious past
In 520, Saint-Césaire, bishop of Arles, decided to erect in Nyons (Drôme Provençale), an outbuilding for his female convent, for which his sister became the first abbess of the religious edifice.
It was not until 970 that some nuns from the convent of Saint-Césaire de Nyons moved to Vinsobres to found a new community there, in order to administer the property of the village. These Benedictine nuns spent their time in prayers, work and hospitality according to the doctrine of Saint Benedict. A chapel which has now disappeared was erected by these nuns in memory of « Saint Vincent », the patron saint of winegrowers.
It was in this privileged place that the Domaine Saint Vincent was created in 1920.
In 2012, after three generations of the same family, Domaine Saint Vincent became the property of the LESCOCHE Family.
The future of this CRU is now on their hands, and their ambition to continue the work accomplished so far and to bring it to higher level of quality and prestige.
Some key dates...
13th Century
Benedictine chapel
erected in memory of Saint Vincent, Patron Saint of Winegrowers
1920
Creation of the domain
by F. DURMA
1957
Planting of the first olive tree
on the property following the 1956 freeze
Olive from Nyons
of the "Tanche" variety, a true black pearl of the "Baronnies", recognized for years, is unique into the world
September 07th, 1957
Vinsobres obtains the appellation
"Côtes du Rhône Villages Vinsobres"
January 10th, 1994
Creation of PDO Nyons appellation
1st PDO in France for Olive oil and Olives
February 17th, 2006
Vinsobres becomes PDO appellation
First Côtes du Rhône CRU in "Drôme Provençale"
Vinsobres
is now one of the 18 Crus of the Rhône Valley
August 2012
Acquisition of the domain
by the LESCOCHE family
2012-2018
Major restructuring of the estate
Vines, production tools, wine tasting room and sales cellar
From the beginning,
the entire estate is cultivated sustainably
September 2018
The domain obtains
High Environmental Value level 3 certification
Our Expertise
A passion, a commitment
Work in the vineyard
The estate covers 50 hectares of vines. It is mainly constituted of Grenache and Syrah grapes, emblematic varieties of the Rhône Valley. The vine is cultivated with perseverance and dedication with respect for ancestral tradition.
The entire vineyard is grown on « Cordon de Royat ». We mainly focus our efforts on mechanical tillage, in order to eliminate the use of herbicides.
Throughout the year, we carry out the operations necessary for the proper development of the vine, in order to allow it to benefit from all the essential care for its growth (pruning, disbudding, topping …).
Harvest, vinification & ageing
The grapes are mainly harvested mechanically, however, we manually harvest some plots intended for the production of certain cuvées.
Our wines are made with patience and passion, giving them specific and recognized characteristics. In order for the wines to express their full potential, we harvest and then vinify the plots separately in order to allow each variety to bring its uniqueness to the final blend.
The total restructuring of our wine cellar in 2018 with the integration of thermo-refrigerated stainless steel vats and the acquisition of oak barrels for ageing the wine, allowed us to improve our working techniques, precision and quality. Today, we are happy to offer you generous, fruity and exciting wines, resulting from the expression of our unique and altitude terroir.
After selecting our best blends, the wine is aged in 225 L barrels for our white wines and 400 L barrels for our red wines. Ageing in wood contribute to obtaining a beautiful aromatic complexity and brings roundness to the wine.
Vinsobres
Cru of the Côtes du Rhône
The vineyard : some history...
The cultivation of vines in the region of Vinsobres was introduced by the Greeks. The Romans perpetuate this culture and the Roman legions, stationed at Vaison-la-Romaine, take their rest at « Vinsobrium ».
Until then classified in Côtes-du-Rhône Villages, the red wine of Vinsobres became on February 17th, 2006 the first local appellation of Côtes-du-Rhône in Drôme Provençale « AOC Vinsobres ». This is how Vinsobres joined the 18 Crus of the Rhône Valley among the most prestigious (Châteauneuf-du-Pâpe, Gigondas, Côte-Rôtie, Cornas etc …).
According to Latin etymology, Vinsobres comes from « Vinsobris » which means « vine » and « work ». This name indicates that Vinsobres has historically been a village of vines and winegrowers.
In 1633, Joseph Marie de Suarès, bishop of Vaison-la-Romaine, and great wine lover of this parish, pronounced this sentence, which is nowadays that of all the winegrowers of the land : « Vinsobres or sober wine, take it soberly ».
Climate, geology and terroirs
Oriented North East / South West and culminating at an altitude of more than 500 meters, the terroir of Vinsobres hills is characterized by a great diversity of soils. Their potentiality and richness give wines great complexity. The Vinsobres terroir is characterized by its strong Syrah grape variety which gives the wine its remarkable freshness and its spicy side.
Located in the Drôme Provençale, Vinsobres is one of the highest altitude appellations in the region. It benefits from the influence of the Pre-Alps, and the local wind. Its climate is influenced by the Mediterranean. The summer is hot and dry, linked to the rise in latitude of the subtropical anticyclones, interspersed with sometimes violent storms. The municipality of Vinsobres enjoys a very good level of sunlight.
Clay & Limestone - Saint-Vincent
Marl & Conglomerates - Le Chevalet
Stony Plateaux – Saint Pierre
Our Values
A commitent family winery
A family estate
Historically and since the 1920’s, Domaine Saint Vincent has always been a family estate. The Durma family has been able to preserve this tradition and perpetuate a know-how passed down over three generations.
In 2012, Philippe Lescoche, entrepreneur in wine filtration, achieve an old dream by acquiring Domaine Saint Vincent, in memory of his maternal grandfather, a winegrower in the Dordogne (South West of France).
After studying international wine trade, and internships abroad, her daughter Ludivine decided to join the estate with the aim of developing it. Strengthened by their complementarity, they are now united around the same passion for wine.
The profession of Independent Winegrower
The independent winegrower cultivates his vines, raises and markets his wine himself. Responsible, the independent winegrower fully assumes the quality of his work, performs it with care and competence, with respect for the environment and with the aim of satisfying his customers. Committed, he chooses to use innovative working methods, without distorting his heritage which he preserves and defends. Professional, he knows his job perfectly, from vineyard management to welcoming and selling his wines to his customers.
To mark this commitment and the quality of our work, we are proud to have joined to the Independent Winegrower Charter which you can find below.
Our environmental approach
Conscious about environmental preservation, the Domaine is proud to be certified High Environmental Value Level 3. This distinction corresponds to the highest level of an environmental certification system for farms and wineries. The HVE certification makes it possible to recognize farms engaged in particularly environmentally friendly approaches with very strict specific constraints.
This certification is controlled by the French government. It is based on 4 environmental performance indicators; the preservation of biodiversity, the phytosanitary strategy, the management of fertilization as well as the management of water resources.
In 2020, we decided to convert our vineyard to Organic Agriculture, that is to say agriculture without artificial chemical fertilizers, but only mechanical work of the soil and the vines. After 3 years of converting our land and changing our cultivation methods towards more sustainable methods, we vinified our first organic vintage in 2023.
