Three generations
of winemakers
In 1974, the property, which at the time consisted of a few hectares of vines and peach trees, was purchased by Lucien Ribes.
In 1980, his son, Jean-Luc Ribes, moved in at the age of 21 and began tending the 9 hectares of vines that had been replanted in previous years. Fresh out of high school, he decided he would be a winegrower and found his calling here: the harmony between the soil and the vine.
A true pioneer in cover cropping, the entire vineyard was planted with grass as early as 1981, and during the winter, the estate's sheep grazed the plots.
The 1985 vintage was pivotal. Frédéric, a recent oenology graduate, experimented with fermenting grapes and, along with his brother Jean-Luc and his wife Catherine, decided to establish Domaine Le Roc. They began vinifying their own grapes and officially left the cooperative winery in 1988. Pierre Salama joined the venture in 1995 and helped the Ribes family build Domaine Le Roc into what it is today.
In 1994, the Ribes brothers built their first aging cellar: a semi-underground facility housing raw concrete tanks, barrels, and casks. This allowed them to diversify their range and age their first red wines.
Ten years later, an opportunity arose to expand the estate. Together, they purchased Château Flotis, a neighboring property offering 20 hectares of vineyards nestled among the woods on the slopes of the appellation.
In 2013, Frédéric, keen to pass on a dynamic and modern estate to the next generation, conceived and built a new straw-bale winery, allowing him to vinify the entire winery from both properties in a single cellar. A true visionary, he created an eco-friendly winery, enabling vinification in a naturally temperature-controlled building.
In 2018, Grégoire and Anne officially joined the family business, settling in as young farmers to support Jean-Luc, Frédéric, and Catherine, who were eager to train and pass on their winemaking expertise to the next generation.
With the arrival of these young people, the Château Flotis vineyards are now vinified and cultivated alongside those of Domaine le Roc, bringing the estate to a total of 35 hectares.
Proud of their first bioclimatic building, they constructed a second straw-bale winery in 2019, dedicated to the vinification and aging of the estate's white wines, as well as wine storage.