 
The lause soil (white calcareous stone used for walls) occupies the west part of the village. A vast valley, surrounded by wooded hills, where the soil rests on a calcareous mother rock, covered with lauses amongst the red clay, used to be the traditional ground for the garrigue and olive trees. This difficult soil, conquered by the vine as from the XVI century, has an extremely low agronomic production but does proffer a high aromatic concentration that gives the Tavel that exceptional freshness. The vine transcends the meagerness of the soils to produce a wine with an inimitable vivacity thanks to those efforts which only mother nature is capable of producing.
The vine, successor of the boxwood, cistus or juniper, has been able to maintain the extent and richness of the Midi-Mediterranean aromatic ambience and transmit this to the wine.
The "galet" soil occupies the higher terraces of the Rhone. A geological heritage over a million years old. At the start of the Quaternary era, the impetuous Rhone river with an unimaginable power deposited an immense bed of "galets" stretching from Montelimar to Crau. Today, the few remaining parts of this landfill offer an exceptional viticultural soil. This is the case of the opposing facing terraces of Tavel and Chateauneuf du Pape on either side of the Rhone.
In a very rubefied argillaceous matrix, the formidable accumulation of "galets" 10 to 20 and even 30 centimeters in diameter offer an unforgettable sight. These quartzite pebblestones torn from the Alps, polished during their travels, became weathered and reddish in color over time.
In this rough working soil the vine expresses all of its power : Fullness and alcoholic equilibrium, expression of colored pigments, structure and constitution of the organoleptic compounds ensuring the solidity and density of the Tavel that distinguishes it from its competitors.
The pebblestone, sandy soil at the foot of the slope constitutes the original soil where the Tavel vineyards were established. It forms a terraced festoon and then, with a mild slope at the foot of the two previously mentioned parts benefits from an extremely beneficial sunny south/south-eastern exposure.
These light and filtering soils are characterized by their aptitude for rapid re-warming as from spring onwards and a remarkable advance in the maturity of the harvest. The privileged amount of sunshine, conjugated with the fineness of the soil, ensures the delicacy and subtlety of those perfumes, which give Tavel a complex harmonious palette.
 Nature is without a doubt generous but not equitable: the Tavel vintners are favored with an exceptional territory.
|
