Cellier des Dauphins, which literally means ‘wine cellar to the heirs of the throne of France,’ began in 1967 when a group of men and women of Rhône Valley created the brand with the desire among vignerons to work together to demonstrate both the fruit of their land and their skills in crafting wines. More than 50 years later, Cellier des Dauphins is comprised of 2,300 winegrower families who collectively own 12,500 hectares of vineyards across 10 villages in the southern Rhône, making it Rhône Valley’s largest grower-owned winery.
In the last 15 years, Cellier des Dauphins has focused on increasing sustainability by working closely alongside the growers to convert to organic viticulture. Today, 1,350 hectares of their vineyards are certified organic, making them the largest organic vineyard in the Rhône Valley. The winery is continuously taking steps to reduce their environmental footprint both in the vineyards and the winery by reducing waste, ensuring all their wines are grown and produced respecting their land.
Cellier des Dauphins attributes much of their success to their many winegrowers, who are committed to growing quality grapes and providing for the winery. With the many different microclimates in the area, producing diversity in the plots and parcels, the winemakers have a wide range of flavours to work with when creating these wines. Cellier des Dauphins offers vibrant and complex fruit-driven wines from the sun-drenched vineyards of the Southern Rhône and want to match value with pleasure throughout their range.
The Vineyards
In the sunny hills of the south of France, amongst lavender fields, olive groves, and mountains in the distance, the Mediterranean climate benefits the vines with plenty of sunshine as well as the Mistral wind that blows down from the Alpine Mountain range, giving the area dry winters and high-temperature summers. These conditions are perfect for growing the renowned grape varieties that have made Côtes du Rhône famous: Syrah, Grenache, Viognier and other regional grapes.
The Wines
2021 Cellier des Dauphins ‘Les Dauphins’ Rosé
91 pts – Kim Brebach (BWU20): Soft, charming Rosie from La belle Provence, easy summer drinking with salmon and salad on the terrace. The wine is a lot better than the label would suggest.
2021 Cellier des Dauphins ‘Les Dauphins’ Rouge
92 pts – Kim Brebach (BWU20): This is the best vintage I’ve seen under this colourful label – fruit-driven, bright and spicy with notes of vanilla from a touch of oak. Medium-bodied, perfect bistro red.
