he story of Jules begins in the late '80s when Hugh and Jane Faulkner fell in love with the region and the wines of the Grand Cros estate. After some debate, the Canadian couple purchased the 60 acre Domaine.
Founded in the 17th century, Le Grand Cros has a long and storied tradition of winemaking. Raymond Guido, Grand Cros winemaker for 30 years, was a key contributor to the estate's history. Raymond continued to make the wine until 2000 when he retired, and Julian, the Faulkners' son, assumed the winemaking duties.
Julian's goal is to honor tradition while incorporating some of the most recent winemaking technology. We're not talking about rotofermenters or micro-oxygenation, but practices to be keep more in touch with what's really going on in the vineyard. His efforts include water stress measurement and soil analysis, weather charting, disease modeling to minimize use of pesticides, and even an infrared camera (!).
Despite all of these newfangled ideas, Julian maintains the time-tested methods of small yields, old vines, hand picking, and nearly organic farming, resulting in a blend of Grenache, Cinsault and Syrah that is truly expressive of the full potential of its terroir.