Early traces of Domaine Champ-Long date back to 1820, although it was thanks to the effort of Raymonde and Maurice Gely in 1964 that the vineyard land was greatly expanded and a cellar for vinification was built. In 1977, Christian Gely continued his parents' work. He was quickly joined by his wife Beatrice and the couple embarked on a profound modernization of the winery. The third generation of Gely arrives at the domaine in 2004, when Christian and Beatrice’s son, Jen-Christophe, enters the family business. 15 years later, in 2019, Jen-Christophe’s wife Agnès joined her husband at the helm of the estate.
From the onset, the young couple’s main goal was to preserve the tradition and quality Domaine Champ-Long has always been known for while implementing the use of environmentally conscious agricultural and cellaring practices. The estate covers 30 hectares of land, of which 25 are devoted to vineyards, spreading across the Ventoux and Cotes du Rhone appellations. The property is very fragmented, although it can broadly divided between clayey and stony hillsides, ideal for making deep, age-worthy reds, and flatter, sandier terrains, dedicated to the production of whites and rosés. The landscape is rugged and unforgiving, characterized by elevation, dense patches of Mediterranean shrubs, impenetrable forests, and the ominous presence of Mount Ventoux, looming over the domain’s holdings.
In the vineyards, a great effort is employed for the promotion of biodiversity and the microbial life of the soil. Most of the vineyard work, harvest included, is carried out by hand. The excess of grass between the rows of vines is eliminated mechanically and the use of chemical weed killers has always been strictly avoided. The estate has been certified organic since 2024.
In the cellar, Jean-Christophe’s main goal is to allow each individual terroirs to express itself with clarity in the glass, through very gentle handling of the juice, avoiding invasive cellar practices, promoting gentle extraction, and vinifying individually the best parcels. A mix of stainless steel vats, cement tanks, untoasted oak barrels, and clay amphoras are used for the evolution of the wines, depending on the singular characteristics of each plot and the peculiarities of the vintage.
