The birth of the estate
This is the story of a meeting of two men united by an exceptional terroir and who, sharing the same passion for wine, decided one fine day to create the Domaine Garde. And to uphold the ethos of tradition, conviviality and high standards. In short, the philosophy behind their work is to share the culture of the vine.
David Garde
An astute entrepreneur whose success owes nothing to luck, he was born in 1972. This colourful native of Lyon, a fine gourmet and passionate oenophile, has used his knowledge to underpin their high-quality work. As the estate’s owner and spokesman, he uses his experience as a businessman to promote its production and ensure its development.
Frédéric Bonnepart
The son of a wine nurseryman and holder of a BEPA and a BTA viticulture oenology, was born in 1974. He has always lived in Theizé, in the heart of the vineyards, where he has run the Domaine des Pérelles for 20 years. His excellent technical skills and intimate knowledge of the terroir give the Domaine Garde all the rigour and know-how needed to create the estate’s wines.
Aiming for beauty
What Frédéric and I are looking to do is make a wine that each year expresses the best of the terroir, the grape variety and the sunshine. Our ambition is to achieve the perfect blend and the ideal ageing to produce wines that will be remembered. Leaving a lasting impression of our time on earth...
Theizé or the gentle way of life
When David Garde discovered the village of Theizé nestling on a hillside in the heart of the vineyards, he was immediately won over by the beauty of its old, golden stone houses in perfect harmony with the landscape. “I felt like I belonged to this land; I had finally come home,” he says, still amazed.
An exceptional land
Historically attached to Grande Bourgogne, Theizé is one of 42 communes in Beaujolais that benefit from the Bourgogne appellation. The composition of the soils, mostly clay-limestone, is similar to that of the major Burgundy appellations. The golden-coloured stone stores heat and diffuses it, giving the vines extra balance throughout the year.
The king's choice
While the commune’s vineyards are mainly planted with Gamay and Pinot, destined to produce red wines, the Domaine Garde produces excellent white wines with a grape variety perfectly suited to the nature of the soil: the Chardonnay. Of noble lineage, this variety allows for infinite nuances of taste and aromatic palettes: the whole purpose of the estate’s Bourgogne whites.
Our plots
The estate cultivates two very fine plots, Les Morguières and La Garenne, south and southeast facing, which allow us to obtain different juices for the production of the two vintages. Still derelict in 2007, they were initially planted with Gamay and underwent a complete restructuring, trellising, replanting, etc. This is an area that has always been dedicated to vine-growing, as evidenced by the presence of an ancient cadole, a wine-growers hut. The red vines are planted on the same plot and benefit from the same conditions of sunshine and richness of soil.
