Presentation of our cellar
Cellar Open every day
Except January 1st, May 1st & December 25th from 8h30 to 12h and from 14h to 18h30
Winter opening hours: 9am-12pm and 2pm-6pm from January to the end of MarchSummer opening hours: 8:30am-12:30pm and 2pm-7pm from July 1st to August 31st
La Suzienne is the name of our Cave Coopérative in Suze-la-Rousse, located at the southernmost tip of the Drôme Provençale. It lies where the vineyards of Grignan-les-Adhémar and Côtes du Rhône Villages meet. Suze-la-Rousse is famous not only for its wines, but also for its Château Féodal, which dominates the winery.
The history of our cooperative winery
The democratic history of wine in Suze-la-Rousse dates back to the 16th century. In September 1564, Charles IX and his mother entered Suze-la-Rousse. Charles had come to baptize the daughter of François de la Baume, lord of Suze and governor of Provence. The festivities in the village were marked by a local wine, served by François de la Baume. All present appreciated the quality of the wine.
In 1925, a handful of winegrowers, including Louis Boyer and Léon Boudon, mayor of the commune, decided to join forces in the face of the challenges facing the winegrowing industry, such as poor harvests and major investments in equipment. Their aim was to select quality grape varieties and pool their efforts to produce top-of-the-range wines. The first 80 members entrusted the presidency of the young cooperative to Louis Boyer. Under his cautious yet authoritative leadership, the cooperative grew to 880 members spread across the communes of southern Drôme and northern Vaucluse.
Our cellar today
Our winery mainly produces wines under three appellations: Côtes du Rhône, Côtes du Rhône Village Suze-la-Rousse and Grignan-les-Adhémar.
The Grignan-les-Adhémar PDO appellation, which has been emerging in the Rhône Valley since October 2010, is particularly dear to the hearts of our cellar's winemakers. Indeed, thanks to its strategic location and layout, our winery currently covers 40% of this appellation, making it the leading producer of wines from this young appellation, strongly marked by its terroir.
Today, our Cave à Suze-la-Rousse has been able to evolve and adopt, even anticipate, major technological advances in order to perfect our winemaking processes. We have joined forces with our partner winemakers, in particular through a qualitative approach initiated decades ago, and the results are now bearing fruit. The Cave benefits from the support of the COFRAC-accredited LACO-CREDO laboratory, also located in Suze la Rousse, in the lower part of the Château. We work closely with the Université du Vin, which is based at Château de Suze-la-Rousse, to train our staff and winemakers.
L’AOP de Suze-la-Rousse
In 2018, the INAO (Institut National des Appellations d'Origine) granted recognition to the Côtes-du-Rhône Villages Suze-la-Rousse appellation. This appellation takes advantage of the climate of Drôme Provençale, nestled among lavender and truffle oaks. The soils, characterized by great diversity, can be both stony, with rolled pebbles, and clay-limestone, with Grenache (60%), Syrah (20%) and Carignan (12%) the main grape varieties. The Côtes du Rhône Villages Suze-la-Rousse PDO parcel area covers four communes: Bollène in Vaucluse, Bouchet, Suze-la-Rousse and Tulette in Drome.