Domaine du Mas Théo

The name Mas Théo is a shortening of Mas Théolas, the family farm, which the village elders named after the long line of farmers who worked it. Jules Gabriel Théolas created the farm at Mas Théolas in 1910. The estate's logo is the old tractor of Laurent Clapier's great-grandfather. Mas Théo brings together the inheritance of three family farms: Théolas (sheep, meadows, cereals and a few vines for the family's own use), Clapier (vines and cereals, with a sideline as a distiller) and Bes (sheep, cereals and vines). Laurent's parents, Louis and Mireille Clapier, took over the Clapier farm in 1968, the Théolas farm in 1973 and the Bes farm in 1983; they gave up livestock to concentrate on cereals, lavender and above all vines, delivering their grapes to the cooperative. Laurent Clapier qualified as a higher agricultural technician in viticulture and oenology in 1998 and set up in 1999 by buying 20 hectares of vines. In 2008 he took over the Théolas-Clapier-Bes family farm alongside those 20 hectares. The estate is registered to Laurent Clapier as an individual enterprise.

• 1910: Jules Gabriel Théolas creates the farm at Mas Théolas
• 1968, 1973, 1983: Louis and Mireille Clapier take over the Clapier, Théolas and Bes farms
• 1999: Laurent Clapier buys 20 hectares of vines
• 2008: Laurent Clapier takes over the family farm, uniting the three inheritances

The estate's own site presents Laurent Clapier as its farmer winemaker, working from the Caves Cathédrales at 2620 route du Belvédère, Saint-Restitut. Since 2012 the estate has been organised on two sites: Mas Théolas in Roussas, with all the farm equipment, and the Caves Cathédrales in Saint-Restitut, with the cellar equipment.

• Laurent Clapier: owner and farmer winemaker
• Mas Théolas, Roussas: farm base and agricultural equipment
• Caves Cathédrales, Saint-Restitut: winery, bottling and tasting room

The farm covers 70 hectares of different crops between Roussas and Saint-Restitut in the heart of the Drôme Provençale, spread over five terroirs. Roussas (33 hectares) is stony clay and limestone, suited to red wines with black fruit and deep colour. Valaurie (2 hectares) is rocky clay and limestone, suited to round, fresh, aromatic whites. La Garde Adhémar (7 hectares) is limestone clay and silt, given over to crops other than vines. Saint-Restitut (9 hectares) is clay and sand, suited to whites of intense fruit. Les Granges Gontardes (16 hectares) is rolled pebbles over ochre clay, suited to structured wines with aromas of garrigue and spice. Laurent Clapier farms 18 hectares of vines, 9 hectares of aromatic plants such as fine lavender and lavandin, 39 hectares of meadows, and a few ares of olive trees and truffle oaks. Vines cover less than half of the farm's area but take up a preponderant share of its activity, and the grape varieties stay with the traditional Rhône Valley profile. Hay from the meadows is exchanged with cattle breeders for manure, and the lavender is distilled for essential oils. A few sheep and beehives have been added around the Mas Théolas farmhouse in recent years.

• Roussas 33 ha, Les Granges Gontardes 16 ha, Saint-Restitut 9 ha, La Garde Adhémar 7 ha, Valaurie 2 ha
• 18 ha of vines, 9 ha of lavender and lavandin, 39 ha of meadows
• Hay traded with cattle breeders for manure to feed the soils
• Lavender and lavandin distilled for essential oils

Chemicals were removed from the vineyard work in 2001, organic certification followed in 2004 and Demeter biodynamic certification in 2011; the wines carry Ecocert (FR-BIO-01) organic and Demeter biodynamic certification. Every productive area of the farm, from the vines to the lavender, receives the horn dung (500) and horn silica (501) preparations and the compost preparations (502 to 507) at least once a year. For several years the estate has also sprayed oxygenated compost teas onto the foliage. Its working priorities run from weather to soil to seasons to days, avoiding unfavourable days in the lunar and planetary calendar and favouring fruit days for work on the vines and the wine.

• 2001: chemicals removed from the vineyard work
• 2004: organic certification; 2011: Demeter biodynamic certification
• Preparations 500, 501 and 502 to 507 applied at least once a year to every productive area
• Vineyard and cellar work timed to fruit days in the lunar and planetary calendar

The Caves Cathédrales are a former stone quarry, the carrière du bois Redon, inside the mountain of Saint-Restitut. The site covers 8,000 square metres underground, 6,000 of them fitted out, at a temperature that holds naturally between 12 and 14°C summer and winter, with humidity often above 90 percent. The Cellier des Dauphins bought the quarries in 1984 and fitted them for wine storage, and stopped working the site in 2004. Laurent Clapier bought the Caves Cathédrales in 2011, and in spring 2012 part of the space was fitted out as the Mas Théo winery, with a vat room, a barrel room for some cuvées and an outdoor grape reception area. Since the move, every step from receiving the grapes to labelled bottles takes place on site with the estate's own equipment, timed where possible to the lunar and planetary calendar. Because the humidity damages cartons and labels, bottles are filled and corked first, stored unlabelled in pallet boxes, and labelled and boxed just before sale. Part of the space is made available to young winemakers to vinify their own wines.

• 8,000 m² underground, 6,000 m² fitted out; 12 to 14°C year round; humidity often above 90 percent
• Bought by Laurent Clapier in 2011; Mas Théo winery fitted out in spring 2012
• Whole process on site, from grape reception to labelled bottle
• Bottles aged unlabelled and labelled just before sale

Mas Théo lies inside the delimited geographical zone of the Grignan-les-Adhémar AOP. As the estate moved toward wines that were as natural as possible, some cuvées stopped claiming the appellation, and from the 2016 vintage Laurent Clapier moved all his wines to the Vin de France category. Export markets, which as of January 2021 accounted for two thirds of Mas Théo's wine sales, favoured the change. Clapier chose to rely on the organic and biodynamic labels rather than the AOP. As of January 2021 the estate listed its wines as present in the United States, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Russia, China, Japan, New Zealand, Réunion and New Caledonia.

• Inside the Grignan-les-Adhémar AOP zone
• All wines Vin de France from the 2016 vintage
• Export: two thirds of wine sales (as of January 2021)

Laurent Clapier frames his approach in his own words: "For me, biodynamics is the natural consequence of a personal reflection on the sustainable management of my farm." Since the move to the Caves Cathédrales in 2012, the only ingredient used to make the wine is grapes, and cellar work is kept minimal, simply accompanying a natural process. The steady cellar temperature lets the estate manage its wines without preservatives. In 2016 the estate moved toward a Nature methodology. The estate calls T.O its identity product, representing the main red terroirs of the farm.

• Grapes as the only ingredient in the wine since 2012
• Wines managed without preservatives in the cool, steady cellar
• 2016: move toward a Nature methodology

The range is grouped into gourmet and generous wines, original wines, and a plot selection. T.O is 50 percent Syrah and 50 percent Grenache from Roussas and Les Granges Gontardes. Le p’tit Ga is 80 percent Syrah and 20 percent Grenache from the bois des mattes site at Les Granges Gontardes, named after the nickname of Laurent Clapier's great-grandfather, Gabriel Théolas. Lapinou is 100 percent Grenache; the name means bunny, a nod to the family name Clapier, which means a rabbit cage. Mogul is a white of Marsanne, Roussanne, Viognier and Grenache Blanc, named after an American tractor from 1907. Pink Paradise is a rosé of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre. Ginger is an orange wine of Marsanne, Roussanne and Grenache Blanc, vinified like a red. P’tit Théo is a light red of 80 percent Grenache and 20 percent Syrah. Bubble T.O rosé is a naturally sparkling rosé of 100 percent Syrah, and there is also a Bubble T.O blanc. Gémeaux, the plot selection, is 60 percent Carignan and 40 percent Mourvèdre; its first vintage was released in the year of the Demeter certification. The range also includes Ginger Spirit, a double-distilled spirit with juniper and cardamom, and Lemon Spirit.

• T.O: 50% Syrah, 50% Grenache (Roussas, Les Granges Gontardes)
• Le p’tit Ga: 80% Syrah, 20% Grenache
• Lapinou: 100% Grenache
• Mogul (white): 30% Marsanne, 30% Roussanne, 20% Viognier, 20% Grenache Blanc
• Ginger (orange): 35% Marsanne, 35% Roussanne, 30% Grenache Blanc
• Gémeaux: 60% Carignan, 40% Mourvèdre

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.mas-theo.fr/en/, https://www.mas-theo.fr/en/mas-theo/, https://www.mas-theo.fr/le-mas-theo/, https://www.mas-theo.fr/en/biodynamics/, https://www.mas-theo.fr/en/oenotourism/, https://www.mas-theo.fr/en/le-mas-theo-dans-le-monde/, https://www.mas-theo.fr/en/legal-notice/, https://www.mas-theo.fr/en/product/t-o/, https://www.mas-theo.fr/en/product/le-ptit-ga/, https://www.mas-theo.fr/en/product/lapinou/, https://www.mas-theo.fr/en/product/mogul/, https://www.mas-theo.fr/en/product/pink-paradise/, https://www.mas-theo.fr/en/product/ginger/, https://www.mas-theo.fr/en/product/ptit-theo/, https://www.mas-theo.fr/en/product/bubble-to_rose/, https://www.mas-theo.fr/en/product/gemeaux/, https://www.mas-theo.fr/en/product/gingerspirit/; and the estate's Caves Cathédrales site: https://caves-cathedrales.fr/lappellation-grignan-les-adhemar/, https://caves-cathedrales.fr/oenotourisme/, https://caves-cathedrales.fr/categorie-produit/vins-biodynamiques/. Last verified 2026-10-20. Where the estate's pages disagree with each other, the dated timeline and the more detailed page are followed.