Chaume Arnaud is one of those places that makes you fall in love with wine before you even taste it. We are in Vinsobres, a small village that, before becoming synonymous with great wines, was covered with olive trees. Its wine-making history underwent a dramatic and decisive change on a freezing night in 1956, when a polar cold snap destroyed almost all of the olive groves. The farmers, not wanting to leave the land uncultivated, began planting vines, thus transforming the landscape and giving life to what would become, in 2006, the first AOC of Drôme Provençale. This is an example of how something extraordinary can arise from an adverse event. Chaume Arnaud, now run by Philippe and Valérie, is not simply an “organic” winery but goes further, towards the principles of biodynamics. The vineyard extends over a plateau with clayey-calcareous soils rich in pebbles and benefits from a Mediterranean climate mitigated by the influence of two winds: the Mistral, which ventilates and keeps the grapes healthy, and the Pontias, a night breeze that slows down ripening, preserving the acidity and freshness of the wines. This combination of hot summer sun and cool nights allows the grape varieties of the southern Rhône – Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre in particular – to express themselves at their best, giving the wines an almost unexpected elegance.
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