- NORTHERN RHONE -

Within the Saint-Joseph appellation, in the Ardèche part of the Northern Rhône, the estate of Paul Estève and Chrystelle Vareille is an exception. In addition to the choice of an organic culture and vinification without any input, they have opted for wines produced from maceration of the grapes - both white and red -, vinified and aged in tinajas - Spanish terracotta jars of the same type as the Georgian qvevri - which constitute the underground vat room of their marani (winery, in Georgian). With a single ambition: to achieve the greatest drinkability in the purest expression of the terroir.

Paul Estève and Chrystelle Vareille started their Domaine des Miquettes in 2003 with some of the Estève family's vines - in Cheminas, north-west of Tournon - which were soon joined by parcels on the slopes, gradually bringing the vineyard to 6 hectares. From the outset, they opted for a method of working that excluded all chemical inputs and additives. Then, adopting the age-old tradition of the qvevri of the Georgian vineyards, they chose to use buried earthenware containers, Spanish jars (tinajas) where the white and red wines are macerated, vinified and aged. In 2020, they decided to concentrate on the best parcels and to reduce the estate to 2.5 hectares: a requirement for work and life in line with an uncompromising desire to produce wines with frank fruit and tannins that are both taut and silky, whites and reds with texture and energy.