Domaine Santa Duc

Domaine Santa Duc dates from 1874, when its first buildings were constructed in Gigondas, and six generations of the Gras family have succeeded one another at the estate. The domaine is named after the Grand Duc owl found in the region. In 1985 Yves Gras, the fifth generation, took over from his father Edmond and immediately chose to farm organically. In 1994 the family acquired the Clos des Hospices, a forgotten clos overlooking the church and former hospice of Gigondas, and restored its terraces. In 2009 Yves Gras acquired parcels in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, including at La Crau. In January 2025 the estate acquired a further 4.7 hectares in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. As of January 2025, Yves Gras was the estate's owner and winemaker.

• 1874: the first buildings of Domaine Santa Duc were constructed in Gigondas.
• 1985: Yves Gras, fifth generation, took over from his father Edmond and chose organic farming.
• 1994: the Gras family acquired the Clos des Hospices and restored its terraces.
• 2009: Yves Gras acquired parcels in Châteauneuf-du-Pape; January 2025: 4.7 hectares added there.

As of January 2025, Benjamin Gras, the sixth generation, headed the estate, working with his father Yves Gras, its owner and winemaker. Benjamin has worked hand in hand with his father since 2017. He obtained a diploma in oenology at the University of Bourgogne in Dijon, spent periods at Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and Bodega Vega-Sicilia, and through the OIV MSc in Wine Management program visited 28 wine-producing countries. He maintained organic farming, converted the entire estate to biodynamic methods in the autumn of 2016, and re-thought the range of wines to put the emphasis on local terroirs.

• Owner and winemaker (as of January 2025): Yves Gras, fifth generation.
• Head of the estate (as of January 2025): Benjamin Gras, sixth generation, working with his father since 2017.
• Benjamin Gras holds a diploma in oenology from the University of Bourgogne in Dijon and took part in the OIV MSc in Wine Management program.

The domaine covers around 30 hectares, with vineyards in Gigondas and Châteauneuf-du-Pape and the balance in Vacqueyras and the Côtes du Rhône, including the villages of Rasteau, Cairanne and Sablet. The Gras family works with Grenache, Mourvèdre, Syrah and Cinsault, with Counoise and Carignan in some red blends and Clairette and Bourboulenc for the whites. In Gigondas, Les Hautes Garrigues holds the estate's historic parcels: 2.8 hectares on the plateau of Gigondas, in the colluvial fan known as the Cône de la Font des Papes, on sandy soil rich in red clay and coarse gravel. In 1852 the town council of Gigondas auctioned 12 hectares of communal land, and the vines soon planted there revealed these terroirs. The Clos des Hospices lies on the slopes of Gigondas at 350 metres, on long, narrow north-west-facing terraces of Cretaceous grey marl, surrounded by 7 hectares of woodland. The Clos Derrière Vieille, a 3.2-hectare monopole behind the former Hospices and the village church, lies on the same grey marl at 350 metres. In Châteauneuf-du-Pape the estate's single parcel selections are La Crau Ouest (0.5 hectare of Grenache with vines averaging 90 years), Les Saintes Vierges (1.2 hectares, the estate's first site in the appellation), Le Pied de Baud (1 hectare on the edges of the Brusquières plateau) and Habemus Papam, from 2.9 hectares at Le Pradel and La Font du Pape. The January 2025 purchase added Montredon (1.87 hectares of Grenache and Syrah, of which 0.7 hectare is to be replanted with white grapes), L'Arnesque (0.71 hectare of Grenache) and Farguerol Nord (2.12 hectares of Grenache). Its Vacqueyras wine Les Aubes comes from 1.5 hectares at Les Aubes and La Ponche.

• Around 30 hectares across Gigondas, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Vacqueyras and the Côtes du Rhône.
• Gigondas: Les Hautes Garrigues (2.8 ha), Clos Derrière Vieille (3.2 ha) and the Clos des Hospices (2.43 ha for the red, 0.88 ha for the white).
• Châteauneuf-du-Pape: La Crau Ouest (0.5 ha), Les Saintes Vierges (1.2 ha), Le Pied de Baud (1 ha), and Le Pradel and La Font du Pape (2.9 ha).
• January 2025 acquisition: Montredon (1.87 ha), L'Arnesque (0.71 ha) and Farguerol Nord (2.12 ha).

The vineyards are Ecocert-certified organic and Demeter-certified biodynamic. Grapes are hand-picked into crates and sorted in the vineyard, then sorted again on a table in the cellar. For the reds a proportion is destemmed, the quantity determined by the vintage and the parcel, and the grapes are fed by gravity into the vats. Fermentation takes place in thermo-regulated stainless-steel vats for 20 to 30 days, followed by malolactic fermentation in vat. The reds age for 18 months in 36-hectolitre Stockinger oak foudres and 8-hectolitre terracotta amphorae; La Crau Ouest ages in amphorae alone. The whites are pressed in whole bunches, fermented in stoneware jars and demi-muids without temperature control, and aged for 10 months on their lees. The wines are bottled without fining or filtration.

• Ecocert-certified organic and Demeter-certified biodynamic.
• Hand harvest with sorting in the vineyard and on a table in the cellar; partial destemming by vintage and parcel.
• Reds: 20 to 30 days in thermo-regulated stainless-steel vats, then 18 months in Stockinger oak foudres and terracotta amphorae.
• Whites: whole-bunch pressing, fermentation in stoneware jar and demi-muid, 10 months on lees.

The estate's Gigondas wines include Aux Lieux-Dits, Les Hautes Garrigues, Clos Derrière Vieille and a red and a white Clos des Hospices. Aux Lieux-Dits draws on 7 hectares in eight lieux-dits around Gigondas (Grenache 75%, Mourvèdre 13%, Syrah 10%, Cinsault 2%). Les Hautes Garrigues is Grenache 50% and Mourvèdre 50%, from vines averaging 75 years, and Clos Derrière Vieille is Grenache 80%, Mourvèdre 10% and Syrah 10%. The red Clos des Hospices is 100% Grenache from massal selection; the white is Clairette 90% and Bourboulenc 10%. Its Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines include La Crau Ouest (100% Grenache), Les Saintes Vierges (complanted with Grenache, Mourvèdre and Counoise), Le Pied de Baud and Habemus Papam (Grenache 70%, Syrah 30%). Les Aubes, from Vacqueyras, is Grenache 80% and Syrah 20%. Its Côtes du Rhône wines include Les Quatre Terres, named for its blend of four terroirs at Vacqueyras, Rasteau, Roaix and Séguret, and the white Le Serre du Rieu (Clairette 90%, Bourboulenc 10%) from Roaix. The vineyards bought in 2025 are to supply wines across the range, notably Habemus Papam, and the estate is considering a single-vineyard cuvée from Farguerol Nord.

• Gigondas wines include Aux Lieux-Dits, Les Hautes Garrigues, Clos Derrière Vieille, Clos des Hospices Rouge and Clos des Hospices Blanc.
• Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines include La Crau Ouest, Les Saintes Vierges, Le Pied de Baud and Habemus Papam.
• Les Aubes comes from Vacqueyras; Côtes du Rhône wines include Les Quatre Terres and the white Le Serre du Rieu.

In the estate's own words, its approach rests on 'Massal selections, biodynamics, whole cluster vinification, fermentation with wild yeasts, minimum intervention, non-filtered wines.' The estate calls the wines of Les Hautes Garrigues 'profound and serious, with spicy, liquorice notes and chewy tannins which give them extraordinary cellaring capacity,' and credits the Clos des Hospices with 'diaphanous aromas of bright fruit and delicate floral notes.' Writing in Decanter in 2005, John Livingstone-Learmonth found that Yves Gras had 'propelled his domaine into the front rank in Gigondas since the early 1990s,' and called his wines 'punchy and potent.'

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.santaduc.fr/en/, https://www.santaduc.fr/en/the-estate/, https://www.santaduc.fr/en/the-winegrowers/, https://www.santaduc.fr/en/our-wines-our-lands/gigondas/aux-lieux-dits/, https://www.santaduc.fr/en/our-wines-our-lands/gigondas/les-hautes-garrigues/, https://www.santaduc.fr/en/our-wines-our-lands/gigondas/clos-derriere-vieille/, https://www.santaduc.fr/en/our-wines-our-lands/gigondas/clos-des-hospices-rouge/, https://www.santaduc.fr/en/our-wines-our-lands/gigondas/clos-des-hospices-blanc/, https://www.santaduc.fr/en/our-wines-our-lands/chateauneuf-du-pape/la-crau-ouest/, https://www.santaduc.fr/en/our-wines-our-lands/chateauneuf-du-pape/les-saintes-vierges/, https://www.santaduc.fr/en/our-wines-our-lands/chateauneuf-du-pape/habemus-papam/, https://www.santaduc.fr/en/our-wines-our-lands/chateauneuf-du-pape/le-pied-de-baud/, https://www.santaduc.fr/en/our-wines-our-lands/vacqueyras/les-aubes/, https://www.santaduc.fr/en/our-wines-our-lands/cotes-du-rhone/les-quatre-terres/, https://www.santaduc.fr/en/our-wines-our-lands/cotes-du-rhone/le-serre-du-rieu-white/. Secondary sources: The Drinks Business (Arabella Mileham, 21 January 2025) and Decanter (John Livingstone Learmonth, 2005). Last verified 2026-10-18. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.