In 1979, the estate was named “Saint Damien.”
Its name evokes a chapel that once stood near the cellars and has since been destroyed.
The estate’s growth is partly due to Clovis SAUREL, Joël SAUREL’s father.
Four generations of winegrowers have worked on this 40-hectare family estate since 1821.
The youngest of seven children in a large winegrowing family, Joël SAUREL grew up surrounded by the smell of the earth and ancestral know-how, combining traditional methods with new cultivation technologies.
In 2013, Romain, an oenologist, joined his father.
Deeply attached to his land and convinced that the terroir is the sole arbiter of a wine’s expression, he has been running the estate using sustainable agriculture methods since 1996.
Maintaining living soil, plowing, and natural fertilizers allow the natural qualities of the terroirs to shine through.
The estate obtained organic farming certification in 2012.
Yields are low on this vineyard, which has an average age of fifty years.Grenache, the main grape variety at SAINT DAMIEN, is blended with Mourvèdre, Cinsaut, and Syrah on the terroirs of GIGONDAS.