Isabel Ferrando, Châteauneuf du Pape, Saint Préfet, Rhone 2022

Isabel Ferrando’s rise as a leading figure in Châteauneuf-du-Pape has been marked by consistent excellence since her first vintage in 2003. She began with the acquisition of 13.2 hectares from the Serre family—pioneers in estate bottling in the 1930s—and established Domaine Saint-Préfert. The heart of her estate is Les Serres, a single parcel located south of the village in one of the appellation’s warmest areas, yet Ferrando manages to produce remarkably ethereal wines from this site. Under the Saint-Préfert label, she originally bottled three wines from Les Serres—“Giraud,” “Auguste Favier,” and a classic Châteauneuf-du-Pape—before expanding with the purchase of northern parcels, where she launched the 100% Grenache cuvée “Colombis,” primarily from the sandy soils of the Colombis lieu-dit. After more than 15 years of studying her vineyard holdings, Ferrando embraced the region's blending tradition with the release of the 2020 vintage, unifying Les Serres into a single flagship wine. She continues to produce “Colombis,” her Côtes-du-Rhône, and two white Châteauneuf-du-Papes, including the rare Vieilles Clairettes in magnum. Since then, all wines have been bottled under the Famille Isabel Ferrando name, with her daughter Guillemette joining the estate in 2023. Ferrando has always farmed organically and adopted biodynamic methods in 2019, achieving certification in 2022. Her vineyards include old-vine Grenache averaging over 70 years old and some original Mourvèdre planted in the 1920s. Les Serres is distinguished by its surface galets stones and subsoil of blue clay and rocks. In 2022, Ferrando unveiled a new winery outfitted with cement vats, allowing for natural yeast fermentations and whole-cluster vinification. In the cellar, she primarily uses neutral demi-muids but has also incorporated glass demi-johns, Stockinger foudres, and amphora. From the beginning, Ferrando has shown remarkable courage, carving out her place in a traditionally insular community with the mentorship of the legendary Henri Bonneau. Her wines have evolved over the years, but as critic Jeb Dunnuck observed, the exceptional quality remains constant. Today, her distinctive expressions of Châteauneuf-du-Pape confirm that Isabel Ferrando is at the peak of her craft.