Story about a winemaker – Domaine Aurelien Chataignier

Aurélien Chatagnier established his own Domaine in 2002, when he was in his early 20s, piecing together his vineyards parcel by parcel over the next decade.

Aurelien Chatagnier is one of supernovae of northern Rhône. He has gained considerable reputation which is due to his expertise and dedication to artistic winemaking for his brilliant “Sybarite” in the appellation of Saint-Joseph.

However, such a talent winemaker was not born in a winemaking family. When he was a vigorous teenager, he worked in the vineyard of Domaine Jamet and looked after for its vine, where he has inspired to learn winemaking expertise. After that, he worked for several years with François Villard, who eventually influenced him to establish his own business. Initially, he only had over 1 hectare of rented vines, Aurélien has gradually built up a Domaine with almost 10 hectares by purchasing, bartering, and replanting vineyards around the town of Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf at the Northernmost of the Saint Joseph appellation.

Today, the Domaine is comprised by over 6 hectares including 2 hectares for Saint Joseph red, 1 hectare for Saint Joseph white, 1 hectare for Condrieu, 0.2 hectares  in Cote-Rotie, 0.2 hectares in Cornas and 2 hectares in PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) Rhodanian wines (for the cuvee “Crêt Louison”, 1400 bottles produced each year, from an outstanding plot of old vines, and the rest in simple Syrah and Viognier).

The vineyards are predominantly granite, and very steep. As all passionate pioneers, he definitely refuses application of pesticides or chemical fertilisers for his vines.

The Domaine style leans towards a style of minimal intervention winemaking which showcases pure wines as a reflection of the terroir, the effort and the determination that Aurélien both adopts organic viticulture and employs native yeasts, mostly used oak, limited extraction, and bottles without fining or filtration.

Therefore, those efforts strengthen the reason why some of the best producers in the area decided to pass the torch over to Aurélien as one of the best young winemakers in the region.