Famille Isabel Ferrando

Previously known as Domaine Saint-Préfert, the biodynamic estate crafts elegant and pure expressions of this iconic Rhône region.

Established in 1930 by the Serre family, the estate really rose to prominence when Isabel Ferrando took over in 2002. A former banker who learnt to make wine at Domaine Raspail-Ay in Gigondas and with the legendary Henri Bonneau, Isabel Ferrando’s wines have become known for their finesse and elegance over power.

When she arrived at the estate, the vineyards were not in good shape, with many vines diseased and in need of replanting. Traditionally, producers in Châteauneuf-du-Pape blend plots together to capture the complexities of the different soils and varieties. But, if she was to make a wine of quality, this was not possible for Ferrando. So she identified the best plots and bottled those separately (as her Réserve Auguste Favier and Collection Charles Giraud cuvées), while she set about replanting the rest of the vineyards. The young fruit from her new vines was dedicated to her Cuvée Classique Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Ferrando later expanded the domaine, purchasing a plot of old-vine Grenache that is used for her Colombis cuvée.

Based in the southern half of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the domaine’s soils are formed mainly of the typical galets roulés over gravel, clay and sand. Ferrando attributes the minerality and length of her wines to calcium deposits in the soils, while the clay brings a fatness, the sandy soils add a silky texture and tenderness to the tannins, and the chalk adds a powdered feel.

The vines are a mixture of old and new plantings (averaging 60 years in age across the estate). Ferrando has pushed for sustainability at the estate, with organic certification in 2013, and biodynamic certification following in 2019.

As her biodynamic farming brought biodiversity back into the vineyards and her young vines reached maturity, Ferrando decided she had the quality of fruit to make a single, flagship Châteauneuf-du-Pape – a wine that could do justice to her terroir and winemaking style. The 2019 vintage was therefore the last under the Domaine Saint-Préfert label, with her range re-launched with the 2020 vintage under Famille Isabel Ferrando. The change was also made in anticipation of Isabel’s daughter, Guillemette, joining the business (she is currently studying and working with top producers around the world).

The new flagship Châteauneuf-du-Pape combines the fruit that previously was used for her her Réserve Auguste Favier and Collection Charles Giraud cuvées, sacrificing two of the wines that have historically been among the highest-rated by critics. The wine captures her obsession with freshness, balanced by concentration – playing with the different textural qualities of her soils and varieties.

Alongside this, she still produces her Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc, Cuvée Spéciale Vieilles Clairettes, Cuvée F601 (her Cinsault) and Cuvée Colombis (pure Grenache).

The white Châteauneuf-du-Pape is normally 60% Clairette and 40% Roussanne. Her F601 Cinsault bottling is unique, with no other 100% Cinsault produced in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. She describes the grape as the Pinot Noir of the Rhône, with the fruit for this cuvée coming from a single plot planted in 1928. Production is tiny – limited to just 800 bottles a year – and it is not cheap. But, for those lucky enough to taste it, it is beguiling. The Wine Advocate’s Joe Czerwinski rated it as his top discovery of 2020.

Famille Isabel Ferrando’s 100% Clairette is another oddity for Châteauneuf-du-Pape and almost as rare. Only bottled in magnums (800 a year), Ferrando believes the wine can age 50 years or more. She wants to counter the claim that white Châteauneuf-du-Pape is fat and fruity, and believes Clairette can produce wines with freshness, tension and salinity. The wine was inspired by her mentor Henri Bonneau, who convinced Ferrando to bottle these 80-year-old vines separately.

The winemaking is traditional here, with no de-stemming (100% whole-bunch since 2009), indigenous yeast and cement tanks or large, old oak used for élevage.

Find vintages bottled under the Domaine Saint-Préfert label here.