Languedoc-Roussillon

This wine consists of 100% Picpoul (or Piquepoul) - a very popular, traditional local variety planted on sun-drenched hillsides called "costières" (coastal region) in the Mediterranean garrigue, near the Etang de Thau - a coastal lagoon situated between the port of Sète and Marseillan. The vines are 15-20 years old.

The garrigue is the name given to open scrubland made up of low-growing, dwarf bushy shrubs including holm oak, juniper, broom and wild herbs such as rosemary, thyme and sage.

The color is a superb pale yellow with bright hues. The nose is elegant, with aromas of fresh fruit and citrus fruit especially grapefruit. Well-balanced with typical focusing and zesty acidity.

A pure expression of the grape varietal, the wine shows how good Picpoul can be when grown on its favorite terroir. Our best value, this wine impresses novices and hardened geeks equally.

-Importer notes

Grapes for both the Rivesaltes and Rancio sec are Grenache gris, harvested by hand from a small 1.9-hectare vineyard of 70-year old goblet vines. Following fermentation and a week-long maceration, elevage is undertaken in a former horse stable situated behind the chateau, a truly special place for the rearing of oxidative wines. The wines are kept in used 225-liter Bordelais fûts, stacked twos and threes, and year-by-year they concentrate and develop the rich texture and notable rancio character that is a hallmark of their elevage.

This is the most important wine of the estate, a serious red vinified to reflect its capacity to age. The grapes are harvested at a point of slight “surmaturité” which captures the profound scents and flavors of the surrounding hillside “garrigue”. The cuvaison continues for at least a month; then, the wine is racked into tank for aging. The wine is bottled twenty to twenty-four months after harvest. As the wine ages in bottle, it develops enticing notes of juniper, rosemary and thyme as well as the savory flavors of wild berries and a hint of the “animal” … all in all, one of the more compelling values in our portfolio.

-Importer notes (Rosenthal)

Located in small village of Sainte Colombe de la Commanderie, on the terroir of Aspres, at the foothills of Mont Canigou, the last peak in the Pyrenees before the Mediterranean sea. Aspres means arid or dry in Cataln, depicting the chalky clay and schist soil of the region, which is the best terroir for vins doux naturels made of Grenache noir, Maccabeo and Grenache gris. Georges Mossé (1884 – 1964), the father of the current owner, decided to not sell the entire harvest each year but instead preserve some great vintages in oak after WWI. That’s why we are fortunate to have these exceptional wines in barrels.

-Importer notes (Martine's)

Pronounced Ar-jess, this comes from the lieu-dit of Babio to the northeast of the village (Karst comes from the north-northwest). The name is an homage to the ancient Greeks, who may have been the first to make wine in Gaul; it's their word for clay. The soil here is clay-limestone, but the emphasis is on the clay, and it's the coupe-roses clay once used by Françoise's forefathers to make roof tiles. This heavy topsoil lays 1-2 meters over limestone bedrock, nurturing just over three acres of Roussanne and just over one of Grenache Blanc. Harvest is by hand, the grapes pass over a selection table, fermentation is spontaneous (20% in neutral 500L demi-muids, the rest in steel), blending takes place in early December, and bottling is in the following spring. No fining or filtration, no SO2 or other additions.

—Dustin Soiseth (KLWM)

A custom cuvée for European Cellars and a joint project between Eric Solomon and Jean-Marc Lafage, Bastide Miraflors is a cuvée created from old vine Grenache (30%) grown on the schist and granite soils of Saint-Paul de Fenouillet, a terroir that always ripens late in the year, and Syrah (70%) from gravelly soils near the Mediterranean. After a long maceration of six weeks, the wine ages for 12 months in roughly 3/4 concrete vats and 1/4 600L French oak demi-muids.