Vieille Julienne

Overview

Over the last decade, Jean-Paul Daumen, proprietor/winemaker at Domaine de la Vieille Julienne, has emerged as one of France’s most compelling wine producers. He is a driven man that will sacrifice anything for quality in his wines. For example, in the rain soaked 2002 vintage he harvested only 50% of the crop, and then rejected half of that. One-fourth of a crop does not make economic sense, but Jean-Paul has his eye on a much longer-term goal. All his wines are labours of love.

Jean-Paul farms 10 hectares in Northern Chateauneuf-du-Pape and 5 hectares in Cotes du Rhone “lieu-dit Clavin” for Vieille Julienne, including the ancient vines his family planted at the turn of the century– all biodynamically. Daumen’s winemaking philosophies are remarkably simple – old vines, tiny yields of around 20 hectoliters per hectare, no SO2 during vinification, aging in neutral tanks or wood, and bottling without fining or filtration — and they combine to give Vieille Julienne’s wines their distinctive character.

“I strive to find the best practices rather than set myself a goal in terms of a finished product. All of my decisions are made for the future. What motivates me is to install our wines in the long run, even if the path is longer, more complicated and difficult.

We have the distinction of being located exclusively on terraces in the northern part of the appellation Châteauneuf du Pape and this site provides freshness, balance, depth and minerality naturally- from there one must understand and respect the context of the vintage. This is important if one seeks the right balance.”

-Jean-Paul Daumen

Visit them on the web at http://www.vieillejulienne.com