Meeting Fabrice Brunel: Châteauneuf-du-Pape with Character
Fabrice Brunel at Langelinieskuret and Karberghus new wine bar. Photo: Charlotte Bjerregaard, Brand Manager at Hans Just.
It was October in Copenhagen when I met Fabrice Brunel at Langelinieskuret and Karberghus new wine bar. The bar had just opened its doors for the very first day of official service, and the meeting was organized by Charlotte Bjerregaard, Brand Manager at Hans Just.
Fabrice spoke fast, joked often, and smiled. At first I was not sure if he was joking or serious, but very soon I realized that this was simply his way. He is lively, playful, and at the same time precise when it comes to wine.
A Domaine with Deep Roots
The Brunel family has been present in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape region for generations. In 1954 Lucien Brunel – Fabrice’s grandfather - gave the domaine the name Les Cailloux, “the pebbles,” a reference to the round stones that shape the soils of the appellation.
In 1989, Fabrice’s father - André - created the flagship wine, Cuvée Centenaire, to celebrate the 100 years anniversary of the very old Grenache-vines in the Farguerol sector. It was originally ment to be made only once – but it was very much appriciated by the customers, to it is still made today - but only in the best vintages and Centenaire has become the pride of the domaine.
For decades it was André Brunel who guided the estate and helped bring recognition to its wines. His passing in 2022 marked a turning point, with his son Fabrice fully taking over as the fifth generation. Today Fabrice continues with the philosophy that has carried the estate for so long: making wines that are powerful but also elegant, wines that can age gracefully but also give pleasure when young.
The Vision of Châteauneuf
When I asked Fabrice how he sees Châteauneuf-du-Pape, he did not hesitate.
“I think it should be quite powerful. Châteauneuf-du-Pape is not a Burgundy wine. Sometimes I think we would like too much to make the most elegant wines, but I think Châteauneuf-du-Pape should be bold wines. It does not mean it has to be too strong or too much concentration. A lot of fruit, nice concentration, nice complexity, quite long. It is also a wine that you can keep for many years, but it is one that should bring immediate pleasure.”
I asked him about oak, since many producers in the area lean heavily on barrel aging. Fabrice shook his head.
“You have 250 producers in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, 250 ways of making it. Our choice is not to use oak. Other producers use oak, and they also make very good wines. For us, we think we have enough concentration because we have old vines, we have good maturity. So I do not want to add extra concentration or extra flavors. Our wines are good by themselves, and they do not need to be aged in oak. It is a choice.”
That choice sets Domaine André Brunel apart. The absence of oak brings the fruit to the front, letting the purity of Grenache speak clearly.
Fabrice Brunel. Photo: André Brunel
Old Vines and Changing Tastes
Old vines are one of the strengths of the domaine. Fabrice explained how styles have shifted over time, and how his father was among the first to step away from oak.
“First we had Parker wines. Thanks to Parker, Châteauneuf-du-Pape became quite famous. But obviously he loved wines with a lot of concentration. If we wanted to have points, we needed to harvest quite late, overripe berries, and use new oak. After that, customer taste started to change, and we also decreased the oak that we used. We were among the first not to use any oak, but now we are not the only ones. Maybe in a couple of years we will use oak again. It always goes forward.”
I asked about oxidation, which used to be a trait of older Châteauneuf.
“Oxidation was a default, like brett. Some customers, especially in the US, enjoy having some brett in their wines, but it is not our style. For us, it is a fault. We do not have oxidation anymore because we improved our winemaking process. Presses are more modern, vats are more modern. At the end the wine is more protected, and we do not suffer oxidation anymore. Oxidation means the wines are evolving too fast, and that is not what we are looking for.”
A New Cellar
Fabrice Brunel at Langelinieskuret and Karberghus new wine bar. Photo: Charlotte Bjerregaard, Brand Manager at Hans Just.
In 2022 the estate opened its new cellar and vat house, with the first vintage produced there that year.
“First, we needed a new building, new vats. The old winery was not very nice. We lacked a nice building to welcome customers, journalists, guests. We had 100 hectares in total, and in five years we opened 50 hectares, so we had a lot of new volume.
The old winery was 50 years old. The equipment still worked, but it was very tiring for the people working there. So, we decided to build the new one in front of the ancient one. Now you do not see the old winery anymore. We have new capacities, modern equipment, much better temperature management, presses, everything.”
He smiled and added:
“We make quite the same wine as we did before. We were making good wines already. I cannot pretend the new winery helped us make better wines, but I think the team is less tired at the end of the day. After 10 hours of harvest, they were exhausted before. Now they do not have to climb stairs anymore, everything is more efficient. The ambiance is better, people can check things once more before leaving because they are less tired. That helps.”
Climate and Grapes
We spoke about climate change, and I asked if the new cellar had helped. Fabrice was straightforward.
“No. The main thing is the grapes. If you harvest overcooked grapes, even the best winery cannot save them. Châteauneuf is 80 percent grapes and 20 percent winery. The cellar helps us have a smoother vinification, control the pace of fermentation, restart if necessary. But you cannot make a very good wine without good grapes.”
On the recent harvests, he gave a detailed picture.
“2025 was much better than 2024. In 2024 we had a lot of rain in spring, so we had many diseases. In 2025, spring was much better. We had two heatwaves in August, then rain in September. Grapes were close to 14.9 alcohol, then after the rain they went back to 12.5, so we had to wait two more weeks. We managed to harvest healthy grapes at 14. I think 2025 will be a super Châteauneuf. Years ending in 5 and 15 were great years. 2025 will be nice, maybe outstanding.”
Photo: André Brunel
“Yes, we destem because our vines are in warm places. The berries are ripe, but not the stems. I do not want to put green stems in the juice. Some producers do, it brings tannin, but it makes the wines difficult when young. ”
Parcels, Destemming, and Style
The conversation turned to the estate’s parcels.
“We have nice plots, some being 60 years old, with a distinctive taste. We have 20 hectares and make six vats. The centennial old vines are always one vat, but we also have four to five separate plots, each vinified apart. Each has its own character. We recognize the soil and the grapes. But in Châteauneuf, it is not like Burgundy with one plot, one grape. We always make blends. The character of our wine is made thanks to all the plots blended together.”
I asked about the destem fermentation.
“Yes, we destem because our vines are in warm places. The berries are ripe, but not the stems. I do not want to put green stems in the juice. Some producers do, it brings tannin, but it makes the wines difficult when young. We prefer to destem. Sometimes at the end of harvest the stems are ripe, then we may keep them. We also experiment. On one plot we have two vats, one destemmed, one with stems. The one with stems is a bit more interesting. Maybe in coming years we will reintroduce some stems, but we do not do full whole cluster. We destem and then put some stems back.”
“I did not change the style. My dad already had a very modern style compared to other Châteauneuf.”
Personal Journey
Fabrice also shared his personal story of coming back to the estate.
“I lived 10 years in Paris as a consultant in supply chain. At 32, my dad was 65 and asked me if I wanted to come back. Otherwise, maybe he would have sold the estate. I thought it was the right time to return.”
When I asked if he had changed anything since taking over, he explained:
“No, I did not change the style. My dad already had a very modern style compared to other Châteauneuf. I mainly focused on customers, management, and building new facilities. We also unified our branding. Everything is now under the name Domaine André Brunel. Before we had different labels, which was confusing. Now it is all clear.”
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Serving the Wines
I asked what he would like sommeliers to say when serving his wines.
“That it is a true Châteauneuf-du-Pape. A lot of fruit, not too much concentration. Wines that can be paired with many types of food, and that can be drunk quite young. Even 2022 is very nice to drink now, or to keep for a couple of years. They are not overpowered by oak or concentration, so you can pair with chicken, game, even fish.”
On the white wine, he added:
“If you want to change from an overpriced Burgundy, you can choose Châteauneuf. It does not have the same acidity as Sancerre or Chablis, but it has more fattiness. It pairs well with fat fish, sushi - or chicken with creamy or truffle sauce. It can age three to five years. White Châteauneuf is not an easy sell, but it is a nice alternative. We only have one hectare, so production is small. We sell a lot to restaurants in Paris.”
Sustainability in Practice
Fabrice prefers to speak about concrete actions.
“We five hectares of vine that will grow under solar panels, positioned at 5 meter above the soil – it is the biggest for wine in southern France. The panels reduce evaporation, so we irrigate less, use less water, and have healthier grapes. We have not used pesticides or herbicides for five to ten years. We plant hedges and trees. We try to make packaging sustainable, lighter bottles, chemical free ink, cardboard, organic plastics. We use underground irrigation, 60 cm deep, which uses much less water.”
On additives:
“No, we do not. Our wines are vegan because we do not use eggs. We only use bentonite for clarification. We do not acidify; we do not add sugar. Just some sulfites, but much lower than allowed.”
André Brunel. Photo: Ronja Bo Gustavsson
Tasting the Wines
The best part of our meeting was sitting down with the wine in our glasses. We started with the white, moved on to Les Cailloux red, and finished with Cuvée Centenaire.
Les Cailloux Blanc 2024
Les Cailloux Rouge 2022
Cuvée Centenaire 2022
On the white (Les Cailloux Blanc 2024): I found flowers, stone fruits, and a touch of bitterness, with a smooth mouthfeel. Fabrice told me that after five years it becomes golden and more oxidative, oily, and best with food.
On Les Cailloux Rouge 2022: I noted how fruity it was, both red and blue fruit, with strawberries up front and freshness that balanced the ripeness. Fabrice explained: “You can drink them quite young, but they perform at their best is after 10 to 15 years. They close a little bit between 5 and 10 years before opening again. After 10 years, they show deep forest and mushroom notes.”
On Cuvée Centenaire 2022: The wine felt layered, starting with fruit and then moving toward spice, with a length that went on and on. Fabrice told me its story: “La Centenaire means “Century”. The first vintage was 1989, to celebrate the 100 years of the original plantation. Since then, we only make it in the best vintages, 2016, 2019, 2023. We did not make 2024 because of hail. Sometimes we keep the best plots for Les Cailloux, so Centenaire is only when there is surplus quality.”
He added: “It is also a wine that needs to breathe. Sometimes it is best to open it the day before. We recently did a vertical tasting back to 1998. All the wines were excellent, especially the 1998. It shows how well Centenaire ages.”
Returning to the white after some time in the glass, I noticed how the flowers and stone fruits had grown more expressive. Fabrice suggested it with cheese, especially when aged: “An old white can be wonderful. You have more oxidation and nuttiness that pair well. We also have some older vintages we can release specifically for restaurants.”
As we closed our conversation, Fabrice spoke about the future.
“Starting with 2023, we decided to make less volume and more concentration. Our wines were looking too much like Burgundy, too much finesse. But customers who order Châteauneuf do not want Burgundy, otherwise they would order Burgundy. So, we lowered the volume of Cuvée Les Cailloux, to increase the quality, with more concentration. Still well balanced, but higher quality. We want to be one of the main estates in Châteauneuf. My dad was among the first recognized abroad in the 1980s.
