Domaine Félys

Domaine Félys, a new chapter at the foot of the Ventoux

François Reynaud, from grapes to wine

The Domaine Félys is first and foremost a family story dating back to the end of the 18th century. Over the generations, the Reynauds have cultivated their lands at the foot of Mount Ventoux, but always within a cooperative model: they produced grapes, not their own wine. After training in viticulture and oenology and several years spent in the wine industry, François Reynaud decides to change that and return fully to the family estate. With Félys, he finally begins to vinify his own grapes and opens a new page in this story, with micro-cuvées produced in very small quantities.

About thirty hectares between Caromb, Mazan and Bédoin

The vineyard extends over approximately 30 hectares, between Caromb, Mazan and Bédoin, in an environment where vines, trees and vegetation are still largely mixed. The Fontainiers area notably benefits from a natural wind corridor that helps limit disease pressure and the effects of frost. François now works with the estate's grape varieties, notably Syrah, Grenache, Carignan and Clairette, with a fairly clear desire: to start from this family heritage but not to be confined to a single recipe.

The “Boisboite” and micro-cuvées for experimentation

The first vinifications take place in the “Boisboite”, a former shipping container converted into a small winery. A deliberately small space that allows François to work in small quantities, to test different aging methods, and to gradually build his style. Super Heavy, the estate's first cuvée, notably combines stainless steel and barrel aging, while Ballon Rouge takes Grenache in a different direction and Odyssée works Clairette with a light maceration. An estate still young in its current form, which moves forward vintage after vintage, with a lot of freedom and above all the desire to finally let the grapes cultivated by the family for generations speak.