12 hectares of vines in a single block on the slopes of the ancient Baumes volcano.
9 Mediterranean grape varieties make up the mosaic of the Domaine’s vines.
A volcano as terroir
A volcano, the Baumes volcano, is the link between the 12 hectares of the Domaine.
The vineyard’s soils were deeply disturbed by volcanic activity 1.3 million years ago. Our volcano lies at the southern end of the volcanic fault that begins in Auvergne with the Puys chain.
Our vineyards are all in one piece, dominated by basalt produced by the rapid cooling of magma during eruptions.
This exceptional terroir is the source of the beautiful complexity, aromatic freshness and ageing potential of our wines.
Mediterranean grape varieties
Nine Mediterranean grape varieties make up the mosaic of the Domaine’s vines.
Syrah and Grenache are in the majority and form the essence of our blended cuvées.
We didn’t know much about Mourvèdre: a large 40-year-old parcel made us passionate about this grape variety, which gives magnificent peppery notes, as well as length and ageing potential.
A small, 50-year-old parcel of Carignan Noir is the living heart of our estate: dry in summer, scorching in summer, this vine produces sumptuous, crisp grapes every year.
As for the Cinsault, it’s a love story that’s only just begun. We’ve fallen head over heels for the fruit and elegance of this grape variety, and year after year we create an original red wine made without added sulphites. We have great ambitions for this little-known grape variety, with the planting in Spirale of a parcel destined to create a great wine!
For the whites, the 2 stars, emigrated from the Rhône: Roussanne and Marsanne at your service. Grenache Blanc and Carignan Blanc complete our white grape varieties. The Carignan Blanc is particularly exciting for the freshness and tension it brings to the wine. Once again, it’s a great unknown to discover.
- 4 ha. of Syrah
- 2 ha. of Mourvèdre.
- 3 ha. of Grenache
- 0.5 ha. of Carignan.
- 0.5 ha. of Cinsault
- 0.6 ha. of Grenache Blanc
- 0.5 ha. of Roussanne
- 0.5 ha. of Marsanne
- 0.4 ha. of Carignan Blanc.
Happy, elegant wines
We like to vinify gently, without over-extracting, in order to preserve the grapes’ natural fruitiness and retain their freshness and elegance.
All our grapes are vinified without the addition of sulphites until bottling. The fact that no sulphites are added during vinification means that we can add low doses of sulphites at bottling to ensure a good protective effect.
The concrete vats are of different sizes and are designed to accommodate each parcel of vines and vinify them separately. Right up to the blending stage, it’s important for us to preserve the personality of each of the vineyard plots.
We produce between 35,000 and 45,000 bottles, depending on the generosity of the vintage, with yields of between 30 and 45 hectolitres per hectare.
Everything is beautiful, everything is organic
Our entire vineyard has been certified organic since 2011.
As soon as we set up the Domaine in 2008, organic growing was an obvious choice for us.
Because we live in our beautiful house in the middle of our vines,
Because we want to gorge ourselves on the asparagus and wild leeks that grow there,
Because we are happy to see the sheep of Nicolas, the Fontès shepherd, grazing there,
Because it’s important to us and to all the Aficianos d’Allegria to drink healthy wines, free from the chemical residues of herbicides and pesticides,
Because it’s our small contribution to the well-being of our planet.
A spiral of Cinsault
When we tasted a bottle of our first vintage of our Cinsault cuvée parcellaire, we were surprised and delighted to discover, in this 10-year-old wine, magnificent notes of black cherry, a very fine structure and perfectly intact balance.
This unique experience convinced us to plant a 30-acre plot with 1,600 Cinsault vines from massal selection, supplied by the most demanding nurseryman, Lilian Berillon.
The characteristics of the plot led us to take this project even further. As the plot is round, we planted the vines in a spiral shape to match its particular shape as closely as possible. In nature, nothing has a square or rectangular shape like a traditional vineyard plot; everything is curved.
The vines are planted in a spiral, and to get even closer to nature, the Cinsault vines are pruned in a goblet shape, making each vine a small shrub, oriented at 360°. A chestnut stake supports each vine.
From the outside to the centre, no form of mechanisation is possible. Everything is done by hand, from the hoeing of each vine to the biodynamic spraying and the Bordeaux mixture applied by hand. Our aim is to do everything we can to produce the finest grapes possible!
To make the wine, we also use an ovoid vat. In this vat, with no angles or roughness, natural convection movements contribute to greater finesse and elegance.
