Camille Cayran, Cave de Cairanne

Cairanne Cru AOC, Rasteau AOC, Côtes-du-Rhône

The Cave de Cairanne began in 1929 when seven wine growers in the heart of the southern Rhône Valley, just north of cru villages Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, and Vacqueyras, banded together to bottle their own wines. Cairanne itself recently was elevated to such a status and Camille Cayran is the beating heart of that elevation. Over the last 93 years this co-operative has grown to 65 growers (throughout the Rhône), earned Cru designation for their village’, and made a name for their delicious, organic, minimalist wines produced on a scale that allows for every day French citizens (and Canadians alike!) to enjoy them at extremely fair prices. 

The Cave de Cairanne cellar gathers together the fruit of 65 winegrowers who have passed their passion for the land from generation to generation. Their fruit is entrusted to Denis Crespo, part time professional French bicyclist, full time Cave de Cairanne winemaker, a fellow supremely talented in doing minimalist winemaking on a large scale. This is precisely what the world of wine needs, the heart of what post industrial, post critic driven wine can be, combining the strengths of modern hygienic cellars with chemical free farming, indigenous ferments, and winemaking without additives (save for minimal sulphites in select cuvées). 

Together, Camille Cayran’s farmers work 550 hectares of vines in the appellations Côtes-du-Rhône, Côtes-du-Rhône Villages, Côtes-du-Rhône Villages Plan de Dieu, Cru Rasteau, Cru Gigondas, Cru Vacqueyras, Cru Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and, of course, Cru Cairanne, their main area. 

Simply put: The farming is beautiful, the grapes are picked at the very end of their ripening period, the sorting and selection is drastic, the winemaking is attentive and calibrated to perfection without any shortcuts, and the final product is delicious.