The terraced vineyards on Mount Tain l’Hermitage have been cultivated since Roman times and are renowned for producing some of the finest wines in the Rhône Valley. Despite the challenges faced by urban wineries, the Delas brothers chose to invest in restoring their historic estate located in the heart of the city.
The new wine cellar and shop are centered around a garden, supported by a robust stone structure. Stone, a material closely tied to the site, is used to build porous walls with thermal inertia, creating optimal conditions for wine storage. The vineyard’s slopes provide visitors with an inviting indoor environment to explore the winemaking process. From the rooftop terrace to the cellar beneath the estate, guests can enjoy panoramic views of the surrounding hills. Continuous skylights illuminate the gallery, while the undulating walls reflect light away from the storage tanks and barrel rooms, protecting the wine from direct sunlight.
The store forms a garden wall, with a linear interior space marked by intersecting stone pillars casting shadows. An existing chestnut tree has left its mark on the wall, and beneath it, the shadows of the shop and glass entrance can be seen.
The original mansion serves as the focal point of the garden and has been transformed into a hotel connected to the winery. It includes a restaurant, a tasting room, a guest bedroom overlooking the garden, and a wine cellar housing historic bottles.
This winery was designed to be tactile. Its structural façade is constructed from load-bearing 50 cm thick Estaillade stone masonry. The soft, relatively light sandstone is ideal for large stone buildings, being both practical and suitable for thick structural blocks. The undulating main wall stretches 80 meters in length and rises 7 meters high, featuring a geometrically stable structure. Each brick was individually carved by robots, then mounted on the foundation and horizontally connected using stainless steel cables. This intelligent process minimizes waste, with leftover gravel repurposed for garden landscaping. Despite the advanced technology, the wall was traditionally assembled by a father and son team of stonemasons.
Project Drawings
▲ General Layout Plan
▲ Underground Floor Plan
▲ First Floor Plan
▲ Second Floor Plan
▲ North-South Section
▲ East-West Section
▲ Node Diagram
▲ Sketch
Project Information
Project Type: Winery
Location: TAIN-L’HERMITAGE, France
Architectural Design: Carl Fredrik Svenstedt Architect
Area: 5,000 m²
Year: 2019
Photographers: Dan Glasser, Sergio Grazia, Carl Fredrik Svenstedt
Manufacturers: Schuco, Bega
Design Team: Carl Fredrik Svenstedt, Boris Lefevre, Pauline Seguin, Thomas Dauphant, Marion Autuori, Benoit-Joseph Grange
Client: Champagne Deutz, Delas Frères
Structural Engineering: Becamel Mallard
Stone Wall Construction: Atelier Graindorge and Stono
Thermal Design: MAYA
Landscape Design: Mélanie Drevet, Christophe Ponceau
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