CULTIVATION

Our philosophy? Organic-raisonne and sustainable grape-growing. Whether our team of vignerons are labouring on the hot Plateau of La Crau, in the lieux-dits of Pignan, La Roquète and Piedlong, or on the cold steep slopes in the district of Les Pallières, they are driven all year round by the conviction that the grapes should be able to thrive and be picked in the best possible conditions.

Fine fruit is essential for a fine vintage. To achieve this, they are quick to tailor each task to each parcel of vines: for instance, pruning, the spreading of organic manure and traditional ploughing are winter chores that may seem straightforward at first glance, but in fact demand great care. In springtime and summer, the same applies for the debudding, done by hand, and the removal of surplus unripe grapes and surplus leaves; balance is everything, and practically each vine enjoys its own.

The treatments effected during the vegetative period respect the rules of organic agriculture and are also raisonnes, in order to meet two main goals:

- zero residues in the wines

- minimal external pollution

To fight vine moths (eudemis and cochylis), since 1997 we have used the technique known as “sexual confusion”. This simply involves saturating the vineyards with female pheromones, so that the disoriented male butterfly has great trouble in mating. The result? Fewer grape worms and healthier grapes, naturally. Harvesting, lastly, illustrates perfectly our philosophy of respect for tradition: the grapes are picked by hand and sorted twice, so that our winemakers receive the healthiest possible fruit. One last detail, which is indispensable to the concepts of terroir and AOC classification: we do not irrigate our vineyards.

Climate, mistral, historic grape varieties, soils, human intuition, exposure…

The personality of a terroir is a magical mixture of natural and human traits that suffices in itself to unveil an expression, or to convey a feeling, that no oenological technique can yet reproduce.