Pierre Amadieu Gigogndas

1929

Founding of the Pierre Amadieu house

The Amadieu family has been associated with the Gigondas appellation for generations. Our grandfather, Pierre Amadieu , owner of 7 hectares at the foot of the village, where vines and olive trees had grown side by side for more than a century, decided to bottle his Gigondas in 1929. He was one of the first to write the name of the appellation on his bottles, and for his vintage Clos de la Paillouse he won a gold medal at the Concours Agricole de Paris in 1932.

Pierre, assisted by his wife, will develop the family property and become a major player in the appellation. In order to optimally exercise his activity, our grandfather built a wine cellar and an underground cellar for aging wines in 1945. It was dug on two basement levels, ensuring constant temperature and humidity.

1950

Acquisition of the Romane and Machotte properties

Our grandfather was a pioneer in many areas: he selected wines and then bought two historically linked properties in the 1950s: Romane and La Machotte. Over the years, generations and planting campaigns, the 7 hectares became 137, making Maison Pierre Amadieu the largest private vineyard in Gigondas. These 137 hectares of vineyards are surrounded by 200 hectares of scrubland and forests, which provide natural protection for the vineyard.

Then in 1955 he bought a former railway tunnel near Pierrelongue, in the Drôme, at a candle auction to mature his wines there. This privileged space, 160 meters long, received 159 barrels of 30 hectoliters, allowing exceptional maturation. But logistical constraints led us to close this location in 2000.

At the same time, the cellar of the Machotte farm was equipped with oak barrels – which are still used – and receives up to 2000 hectoliters of wine in wood. The wines benefit from natural air conditioning, where old ceramic barrels from the 13th century are still visible.

Pierre Amadieu , our grandfather, was not only a winemaker and builder, but also a forerunner in many things. Before all the current talk about the environment, he grazed a large flock of sheep in the vineyards out of season – up to 1,200 of them! -, applying both natural fertilization and controlled grass cover, to obtain a natural and healthy vineyard.

He also dealt with the structuring aspect of the wine-growing landscape, planting numerous olive trees and cypresses from Florence, which today are a delight for hikers.

1965 & 1975

The estate is built around

Jean-Pierre and Claude

As an avid lover and defender of this terroir, our grandfather played a decisive role in the history of the appellation. He worked everywhere to make the name Gigondas known and his wines quickly became appreciated, even going so far as to appear on the wine list of France (the immortal liner) or on Air Afrique for many years.

After completing his business studies, his son Jean- Pierre Amadieu joined him in 1965 and built up a solid commercial network, in which exports and sales to restaurateurs and wine merchants were all important.

In 1975, a few years after the consecration of the wines of the Gigondas appellation to cru, his second son Claude came to live there and worked in the vineyard. He inherits this respect for the environment and strives to manage the vines as naturally as possible. He produced the first Gigondas trot and also set up his own nurseries to obtain exactly the type of plant he wanted. With his wife Muriel they developed sales to private individuals; and to the delight of wine lovers, they launch the Domaine Grand Romane cuvée, a cheerful blend of old Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre vines.

Today

the 3rd generation takes over

In 1989, Pierre Jr. (son of Jean-Pierre) took over the family torch, after studying agricultural engineering in Paris, followed by a viti-oeno specialization in Montpellier. He shares with Jean-Marie the delicate task of making wines. Pierre's desire is to look for finesse, length and “Burgundian” freshness in our wines. Thanks to a careful selection of the plots, he set up a new wine production unit that today makes it possible to produce 3 Gigondas cuvées – Domaine Grand Romane, Romane-Machotte and Le Pas de L'Aigle – each with its own way of doing this express exceptional terroir. This alliance of grape varieties and the Mediterranean climate with the freshness and finesse of the altitude produces generous, elegant and well-balanced wines that remain long on the palate.

Passionate about wine, Claude's children naturally joined the estate:

Henri-Claude heads the sales department. After higher studies in commerce, he successfully founded his signage services company, which he ran for six years. In 2010 he began his return to the wine world and went abroad to participate in the Chappellet family adventure in Napa Valley (USA). He carried out winemaking there and then devoted a year to wine tourism, retail and finally to the distribution network.

Jean-Marie joined the estate in 2015. As an agronomist and oenologist by training, he supports Pierre in the cellar to manage the vinification and blending. After spending a few months with our fellow vintners Delas in the Northern Rhône Valley and Chappellet in Napa Valley, the desire to join the family adventure was felt!

Since 2018, Marie has returned to Gigondas. She graduated from the Purpan agricultural engineering school in Toulouse and worked for a while at Crédit Agricole in the heart of Champagne. She takes care of private customers and the cellar.

2019

90 years of history for our family of passionate winegrowers

We continue to continuously improve our knowledge and infrastructure. At the beginning of 2019 we inaugurated our new maturing cellar. It is built in natural stone and can accommodate 75 units of 225 liters and 21 tons of 30 and 50 hectoliters.

In 2014 we also expanded our basement with the construction of a building dedicated to labeling and order preparation.

In July 2019 we took over Domaine les Hautes Cances in Cairanne. This young appellation is particularly close to our hearts; Since 2014 we have been connected there with the Les Hautes Rives wine harvest. The vineyard covers 18.6 ha, divided into Cru Cairanne (12.5 ha), Côtes du Rhône Villages (4.9 ha) and IGP (1.2 ha).

Pierre Amadieu Gigondas