Cellier des Princes buys Domaine des Escondudes

fter Guigal a few weeks ago, the co-operative winery Cellier des Princes in Courthezon, Vaucluse, has bought an estate in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation area. In June 2017, it bought Domaine des Escondudes and its six hectares of old Grenache vines stretching over the appellation’s archetypal pebble-strewn soils. The estate belongs to a former member of the co-operative and was therefore already marketing its wines. Cellier des Princes has bought an additional two hectares in the same appellation area, bringing the total hectareage bought under its name up to 8 hectares.

Ramping up production

This is the first time Cellier des Princes has owned land itself and the procedure was anything but simple: “This is a highly sought-after area and thirty or so other prospective buyers were looking to purchase these vines. But land registry agency Safer chose us because we had agreed to allow 10 ‘young’ wine growers aged under forty to farm them, which was what swayed the decision”, pointed out Pierre Cohen, the co-op’s managing director.

The acquisition and arrival of new wine growers are intended to help the co-operative “continue its development. It enables us to secure and ramp up production which is now sold entirely in bottles”, added Cohen.

Cellier des Princes currently boasts 189 member growers covering 580 hectares within the appellation.