Delon-Vignal: Producing Original Wines with Ancient Grape Varieties at the Gates of the Camargue

At the gates of the Camargue, Emmanuelle Delon, Luc Vignal and their son Théodore produce original wines with ancient grape varieties or from sometimes distant regions.

Their first vintage, they called “Marche retour”. “We wanted to make a wine without pesticides, plow the soil, return to the farming methods of the ancients, respect the environment,” explains Emmanuelle Delon, owner of the farmhouse and winemaker of character. Organic without the stamp in short. It was 15 years ago. This year, they will be certified. There it will be written on the label. Besides, the label, that in the figurative sense, Emmanuelle Delon and her husband Luc Vignal don’t care a bit. Their thing is to make the wine they like and rather single varietal wines. “Light wines without tannin, without extraction, with freshness. A glug that flows on its own. That doesn’t mean that we don’t make quality, be careful”, explains Emmanuelle.

Original grape varieties

Surrounded by the star Costières-de-Nîmes – Valcombe, L’Hermitage and D’or et de Gueules – they appear as a free electron. Firstly because they only produce two hillsides, then because they took the bold step of planting grape varieties which are not really used to growing on the clay and limestone soils of southern Gard: Pinot, Alicante, Sangiovese… “It’s true that Pinot is not at all what is made here. It’s a grape variety that we find in Burgundy”, laughs Emmanuelle who says “we like to do what we like pleases. In any case, we only do what we like well.” What this daughter of a long line of winegrowers prefers is, above all, working as a family, “all three of us, with my son Théodore,” she says.

A long line of winegrowers

The first traces of the Mas du Chêne date back to 1840. In 1915, Frédéric Coste bequeathed to his daughter Valentine and her husband Arthur Delon 36 hectares of vines in this corner at the gateway to the Camargue. Over the generations, the family acquired other lands in Générac and Isle sur la Sorgue before retaining only the Saint-Gilloise lands. Emmanuelle’s father, who managed the farmhouse, died when she was only 14 years old. It was her mother who then took over and rented the land, before dying when Emmanuelle was 30 years old. “I was working in a beauty salon in Montpellier, but I decided to take over the farmhouse. At the time, it wasn’t even inhabited and the farmhouse was managed by two agricultural workers. I found myself all alone in this adventure. Until she met Luc. Initially an ironworker, he became a wine merchant in… Lille. Before embarking on the wine adventure with Emmanuelle in 2008. Since their meeting, the couple has had great successes: two daughters and unique wines.

In addition to the sense of family, there is the value of doing good and the taste for meeting people. Vine 2.0 on the networks, instagrammable and so on, why not. But Emmanuelle and Luc are more of the handshake and impromptu tasting type. In short, a traditional epicurean exchange where we prefer the clicking of balloons.

Winegrowers in constant evolution

But don’t think that the little family is resistant to change. Quite the contrary. The Delon-Vidal are constantly evolving both in cultivation and in winemaking. “Today, we are pulling out the vines that we reserved for bulk to concentrate on bottles (they are in Pays d’Oc, IGP and Costières). We have chosen vatting in eggs and amphoras. We have now a beautiful working tool”, says Emmanuelle with pride.

But the family shares the same fear as many of their winegrower friends. That of climate change that they have felt since 2019 and which is testing their optimism. “In 30 years, there will be no more vines,” thinks Luc. “Unless new generations like that of our daughter, studying agricultural engineering, find a solution,” positive Emmanuelle.

Domaine du Chêne, route de Générac (D14), Saint-Gilles. 06 81 56 02 65. Sale at the estate or at wine merchants.

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