Grape variety
100% Grenache Gris : the vines are over 50 years old
Soil
The soil is dominated by the sandstone schist of Laurens-Cabrières, like the neighbouring areas of the Faugéres hills. This type of soil presents a fragile structure which is slightly acidic and can be difficult for the vines, but when treated with adapted cultivation methods, provides well balanced vines.
The climate in 2021
A vintage under the sign of adaptability!
A dry winter, a warm month of March with an early start to vegetation, then the frost of 7 and 8 April which caused localised damage. Spring was relatively cool, and summer was punctuated by regular storms. During the harvest, the weather was rather mild in Faugères, allowing us to let our grapes ripen well.
Pruning and yield
Double Cordon de Royat pruning for low yields of 30 hl/ha.
Vinification
Hand harvested with parcel selection for the ripest grapes on 7th and 8th September.
Immediate pressing and controlled temperatures.
Vinification in steel tanks for part of the harvest, the remainder was vinified in new oak barrels.
We produced 1,800 bottles of this wine.
Tasting notes
This grape variety is astonishing. It doesn't choose sides: white? rosé? red ingredient? Thierry chose white. He was right. Of course, it must be delicately pressed, the must must be left to settle patiently, then vinified gently. And we obtain, without artifice, a brilliant white wine with scents of citrus fruits (yuzu, citron), white fruits (pear, peach) and star anise. The palate is lively in its richness and rich in its liveliness. It is said that it is in the simplest wines that we see the talent of the winemaker.
Our story
The 1998 harvest yields only 45 hectolitres of wine, on an area of 2.5 hectares of vines. It's not much, but it's very good! It will be the reference vintage, with the will to progress each year. Modest in size at the beginning, the estate has gradually grown to reach 23 hectares today. The grape varieties are those of the Faugères appellation: syrah, grenache, lledoner pelut, carignan and mourvèdre, plus some very old vines of grey grenache planted in 1958!
Other little stories
On a qualitative but demanding terroir, the yields are always voluntarily low, around 25hl/ha. Rigorous, demanding and perfectionist, Thierry Rodriguez knows from experience that the soil gives back what it is given. No good wine without beautiful, healthy and ripe grapes. No cultivation without respect for nature. Here, there is no revolution, but common sense on the part of the farmers and practices that respect the environment and biodiversity. The landscape is hilly, the vines are surrounded by natural hedges, woods and forests of holm oak, cork oak and garrigue (strawberry bush, cade, rockrose, heather, broom, thyme). In 2016, the special care taken in the vineyard earned the estate HVE (High Environmental Value) certification. Built in 2013, the cellar is modern and functional. The vinification equipment was chosen to preserve the quality of the harvest as much as possible. The harvest is manual, the grapes are sorted in the vineyard and then brought whole to the cellar. The ambition is to produce great wines, expressive, fruity, with soft and silky tannins and yet with good ageing potential. As soon as fermentation is finished, the wines are put into French oak barrels to mature for 12 to 18 months.
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