Standing on the miles-long, high-elevation Plateau des Garrigues in Vacqueyras, strewn with galets roulés as far as the eye can see, you can’t help but feel exposed to all the elements northern Provence’s intense climate could throw your way. With few trees dotting this arid expanse, shelter is scarce. But, before you can worry about getting caught in a hailstorm or swept away by the mistral, or baking between the sun’s rays and the warmth radiated back up by the gleaming galets, the lean, muscular, and sage-but-playful Serge Férigoule cracks a joke. “When the winds blow through here, you lean down, pick up a few of these,” he says, pointing to the region’s iconic stones, “and put them in your pockets. They’ll anchor you down, so you don’t get blown away.” It takes me a second to understand, because in Serge’s mile-a-minute French, coated in a thick southern twang, I think I hear him say “vin” but then realize that, of course, he’s talking about “les vents”—the winds—which are so notorious in this part of France that many Provençal nativity scenes feature a shepherd holding on tight to his hat so the mistral doesn’t blow it away.
     Almost all of Serge and his son Frédéri’s seventeen hectares stretch out across this plateau, where Vacqueyras’s best vines are planted, and both their wines and their winemaking reflect the heightened conditions of this place. The reds are deep, stony, and soulful, showing a vividness and concentration that come from the plateau’s dryness and the warmth of the sun and galets. But their wines possess remarkable freshness that also reflects this land, albeit in a more indirect way.
     When it rains here, the soil drains well and the mistral wicks any remaining moisture away, which lowers disease pressure. Because of this terroir advantage—and because Serge is such a thoughtful vigneron—he started farming organically when he created Le Sang des Cailloux in the early ’90s, and biodynamically ten years after that, making the domaine an early leader in progressive farming not only in Vacqueyras, but in all of France and beyond. Accordingly, the family’s vines have flourished for decades. When you combine this plant health with the Férigoules’ relatively early harvesting and creativity in the cellar, it’s no surprise as to why their lone blanc and two rouges are so graceful and vibrant. Pound for pound, these are some of the most expressive and honest wines in the south of France.