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Maison & Domaines Les Alexandrins acquires Hermitage estate
Michelas St Jemms, located partially in the tiny Hermitage region of the Rhône Valley, has been snapped up by Maison & Domaines Les Alexandrins for an undisclosed sum.
Known for its fine Northern Rhône wines, Maison & Domaines Les Alexandrins has expanded its portfolio with the acquisition of Domaine Michelas St Jemms based in the village of Mercurol.
The integration of the 38-hectare certified organic estate that covers Rhône appellations Hermitage, Crozes Hermitage, Cornas and Saint Joseph enables Maison & Domaines Les Alexandrins to bolster its old vine offering (Michelas St Jemms encompasses 60-year-old Syrah vines), as well as adding an organic string to its bow.
The varied terroirs of Michelas St Jemms encompass limestone, chalk and granite soils, enabling it to produce wines with a distinctive sense of place. Its vineyards in the Saint Joseph appellation, for example, are found at 380m altitude, offering a freshness to the wines and a prime location in the face of a warming climate, while the granitic soils of its Cornas vineyard lend a minerality to wines produced from there.
Michelas St Jemms, founded in 1961, has been organic since the producer’s 2022 vintage, with biodynamic principles also applied.
“We would like to congratulate the Michelas family for its incredible work over the years, and to thank them for entrusting us with this estate that we know well, as it is where my colleague Alexandre Caso began his career as an agricultural worker at the beginning of the nineties,” said Nicolas Jaboulet of Maison & Domaines Les Alexandrins.
Jaboulet (head of Maison Nicolas Perrin) joined forces with Alexandre Caso and Guillaume Sorrel (founders of Domaine Les Alexandrins) in 2012 to establish Maison & Domaines Les Alexandrins.
“The vines have been perfectly maintained, with precise, meticulous work, and these are values that we share here at Maison & Domaines Les Alexandrins,” Jaboulet said of the newly acquired site.
“Driven by this common commitment, the teams from both estates are determined to carry this magnificent story forward, by preserving this name and this heritage, and continuing to bring the great wines of the Northern Rhône to the attention of the world.”
Maison & Domaines Les Alexandrines encompasses three wine labels: Domaines Les Alexandrins; Maison Les Alexandrins; and Domaine de Breseyme.
The group owns Syrah vines of more than 70-years-old in Crozes-Hermitage, as well as 90-year-old vines in Tournon, which it uses to make its Saint-Joseph wines.