Château Mont-Redon has been in the Abeille and Fabre families for four generations, with its vineyard omnipresent for centuries. The first vines found at Mont-Redon date back to Roman times, 2,000 years ago. They were planted at the bottom of the hill that gave its name to the Mont-Redon property.

In 1344, “Mourredon”, part of the Pope’s land holdings, was officially recognized as a vineyard. In the middle of the 18th Century, the nobleman Joseph Ignace d’Astier, a lawyer with a doctorate in Law from Avignon, acquired Mont-Redon. The Mathieu family, descendants of the Astiers, then took ownership.

Anselme Mathieu, who called himself the “Marquis of Mont-Redon”, ran the domaine until his mother, Claire Mathieu, died, causing the inheritance to be split up amongst her children. At the same time, in 1866, phylloxera ravaged the Châteauneuf-du-Pape vineyards.

In 1923, Henri Plantin purchased Mont-Redon. He worked on grouping together as many parcels as possible, and had the foresight to plant on the wide open plateau, with its rocky soil and forest patches, never before cultivated, that looks over the Château.

Today, Henri Plantin’s descendants, the Abeille and Fabre families, continue to search out the best pieces of land with which to ensure the domaine’s growth.

The Largest Landowner in Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Château Mont-Redon owns 100 hectares of the most perfectly-sited vineyards in Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

More than half of their vineyards are planted on “diluvium alpin” soil on the highest Mistral (dry southern winds) blown plateaus of the appellation at elevations above 500 feet. Châteauneuf-du-Pape is famous for it’s “galet’s” or round, heat absorbing pebbles that have been shaped and polished over thousands of years by the Rhône River and spread over time along the appellations highest plains. In some portions of the vineyard this layer can exceed 2 meters in depth forcing the vines roots deep in search of the layer of red clay that lies beneath. Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre grown in these conditions produce wines that are generous, powerful, tannic and concentrated.

The remaining vineyards sit in two distinct soils, the first being primarily sand that was created when the Rhône River shifted course bringing with it the smallest parts of the soil, which broke into smaller pieces still (sand). These soils increases the aromatic character of Syrah, Cinsault and Mourvèdre.

Urgonian Limestone soils make up the remaining vineyards. Soils here are shallower and give excellent results with the white varieties, rich with aromas of white and citrus fruits.