Vineyards ...
two terroirs
Two names ...
For the powerful red wines of Languedoc, try the PDO wines Minervois, Minervois-La Livinière and Saint Chinian, Saint Chinian-Berlou and Saint Chinian-Roquebrun. For natural sweet wines, demand the famous "petit grains" muscat de St jean de Minervois. For more lively white wines, taste the wines of the upper Orb Valley. The range of rosés is quite wide.
The entire territory of the Minervois au Caroux in Haut-Languedoc benefits from the national label Vignobles & Découverte "Minervois, Saint-Chinain, Faugères" in order to highlight the wines, appellations and oenotourism offer of the terroirs.
DID YOU KNOW THAT?
The vine also makes flowers.....
But so discreet that they go unnoticed.
However, in mid-June, their perfume invades the vines and reminds us of the very volatile scent of honeysuckle.
For a TASTING, meet the winegrowers who welcome you to the cellar : List of winegrowers
On Vieussan, Berlou, Roquebrun, grow wines in AOC Saint-Chinian
Between Prémian and Colombières.The along Jaur and the Orb at the foot of the mountain, there are the local wines of the Upper Valley of the Orb
Le Minervois
LE MINERVOIS
The vineyard of the Hérault Minervois extends on a successive terrace from the foothills of the Montagne Noire to the Canal du Midi. On exceptional terroirs, between limestone and mourels, the different grape varieties are bursting with wind and sun to offer wines of great richness and diversity to be discovered in moderation.
Located on the southern slope of the Montagne Noire. By its geographical extension, this great Mediterranean appellation reveals a mosaic of climates and landscapes. The diversity of the terroirs is determined by a simple yet simple arrangement of geological structures.
The sedimentary layers, of tertiary age, rest on the ancient base of the Black Mountain and regularly plunge southwards towards the Minervois syncline. Three groups, elongated from east to west, follow each other generally from north to south: the shales of the old basement, alternating limestone and marl of varying degrees of marine origin, the sandstones and fluvial silts of the Molasse du Minervois.
Although all well exposed to the south, the terroirs draw their diversity from the variety of bedrock and an altimeter gradient that brings the vines to an altitude of 400 m, to the north, to less than 50 m in the Aude corridor.
The Hérault Minervois is made up of three terroirs that differ in their soil and climate characteristics.
The Petit Causse terroir begins in Félines-Minervois and extends to Azillanet, encompassing La Livinière, Siran and Cesseras. It stretches from the plains and terraces to the foothills of the Montagne Noire, heralding mountainous landscapes to the north. The vine, a dominant plant element, coexists with a low scrubland and numerous pine forests. On the tops of the hillsides, the grape varieties of the vine take the place of the scrubland. The variety of soils (hard and soft limestone, shale, sandstone, sandstone, quaternary terraces) offers a diversity of wines and allows the adaptation of many grape varieties including Syrah, requiring a relatively large and regular water supply.
It is a soil of character: a clayey-limestone and sandstone soil, stony, arid on the surface, fresh in depth, a topography of small sloping or terraced plots.
The warm climate is tempered by the altitude and by the fresh air (the Cers) from the nearby Montagne Noire, with large day/night temperature differences conducive to the development of aromas of garrigue and candied fruit.
It is a soil of character: a clayey-limestone and sandstone soil, stony, arid on the surface, fresh in depth, a topography of small sloping or terraced plots.
The warm climate is tempered by the altitude and by the fresh air (the Cers) from the nearby Montagne Noire, with large day/night temperature differences conducive to the development of aromas of garrigue and candied fruit.
The Causse terroir: High altitude terroir located in the central part of the Minervois, it reveals a strong geological identity. Between the Onion Valley in the west and the Cesse Valley in the south and east, it is located on a vast limestone plateau, inclined to the south, incised with magnificent canyons, such as the Cesse Canyon in Minerva. It extends over the municipalities of Minerve, La Caunette, Aigues-Vives and as far as Saint-Jean-de-Minervois. Here the vines are found alongside not only the southern scrubland but also the very white limestone rock of the Cesse and Brian gorges. The plots are smaller due to the more rugged terrain. The morphology of the plots may depend on the nature of the soil itself. Very calcareous and poor, they do not prevent the vine from establishing itself there, the roots can go very deeply to draw their water reserves (a few tens of meters) by following the cracks. However, the elders have always favoured lands that are easier to work on, such as the bottoms of valleys, where the land has been able to accumulate. There are also vernacular agricultural buildings (mazets, capitelles, dry stone walls, etc.) near the vines, which are strong visual elements of the Mediterranean landscape.
Grenache and Carignan, Mediterranean grape varieties, appreciate the heat and dryness of these causses.
The Mourels terroir extends from Azillanet to Agel via Beaufort, Oupia and Aigne. The Mourels are rocky ridges formed by geological layers surveyed and crowned by a sandstone bank. We find the alternation between spontaneous vegetation and the vine with the same contrast effects according to the seasons. Here again, the implantation of the vine is induced by the nature of the soil. Sandstone, unlike limestone, is very difficult to drill through by the roots, so there are no vines at the top of Mourels. It is one of the hottest and driest in the Minervois. It produces concentrated, warm and complex wines with aromas of red fruits.
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