Times have not been easy of late for winemakers in Roussillon, France’s hottest and driest wine region. Semi-arid conditions have been their lot since 2022, culminating in the driest year on record in Roussillon last year, with rainfall down to an average of 192mm and, it is projected that, over the next three years, as many as 5,000 hectares of the 19,000 currently under vine will be grubbed up.
The wines made, however, continue to impress as far as quality and value-for-money are concerned. On a recent trip there, it was hard not to be bowled over by so many of them, with half the area’s vines being over 50-years old on a unique mosaic of soils. Many are unirrigated.
Red wines continue to be the mainstay of production, comprising 62% of it, with rosé 24% and whites 14%. The latter could well rise, though, for where there is some replanting of vines, it tends to be with white varietals, according to Eric Aracil, export director for the Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins du Roussillon (CIVR). While co-operatives, which number 25, play an important role, producing 56% of Roussillon’s wines, there are around 1900 wineries in the region.
The statistic that really stands out is that 32% of Roussillon’s vines are farmed organically, the highest in any of France's wine regions. Moreover, 40% of volume is committed to organic production or conversion. Throw in another 36% of volume that is HVE (Haute Valeur Environnementale) registered, and that means three-quarters of all volume is committed to an agro-environmental approach. Few regions in the world can match that.
Domaine Lafage
Lafage's experiment with Biochar, the fine-grained carbon compost applied to the soil under vine rows, has been hugely successful
If there is one winery in Roussillon that is the biggest disciple of biodiversity and regenerative agriculture, it is Domaine Lafage, whose first-rate range is imported into the UK by Hallgarten & Novum. One of the first seven cellars globally to be certified in 2023 as a regenerative producer by the RVA (Regenerative Viticulture Association) and Ecocert, it has constantly been adapting its viticultural practices. The estate is 341 hectares in size, but in its determination to avoid monoculture, only 91ha are under vine (66 being certified organic and 25 certified regenerative).
As much as 140ha of cover crops are sown between the Lafage vines to mustard, oats, rye and faba beans. Sheep graze 35ha of this cover every winter, while nearly 10 million insects and moths are consumed annually by bats from 98 shelters and tits from 48 nest boxes. Seventy hectares are not farmed, being fallow, garrigue or moorland – rich in natural plant species. There are also 9.5km of hedgerows.
Lafage's experiment with Biochar, the fine-grained carbon compost applied to the soil under vine rows, has been so successful that other producers in France, notably in Burgundy, are repeating it. As local water availability in the area is extremely limited, exacerbated by the lower rainfall of 2022-24, precision irrigation has become ever more important. With the old permitted irrigation of 1500 cubic metres per hectare reduced to 500, Biochar’s water-retentive capability has proved invaluable. Lasting years in the soil, it also retains nutrients, encouraging growth.
Domaine de Bila-Haut
Aurelien Capel of Bila Haut
No less a champion of biodynamic farming is Domaine de Bila-Haut, whose 100 hectares under vine gained certification in 2019. Founded by Maxime Chapoutier, the estate produces some of Roussillon’s finest red and white still wines, which are imported into the UK by Hatch Mansfield. Syrah, Grenache and Carignan are the black grapes grown, with Grenache Gris, Grenache Blanc and Macabeu the white. The labels from AOP Côtes du Roussillon Villages sub-appellations of Latour de France and Lesquerdes showed particularly well, while both the red (100% Grenache) and white (90% Grenache Gris) AOP Collioure Chrysopée 2022 Parcellar Selection were stunning wines.
“The Chrysopée is maybe the most beautiful plot we have,” Aurélien Capel, Bila Haut’s operations manager, said. “It’s on schist soil on terraces with a cliff below it and then the sea.” Just south of Collioure lies the vineyard for Bila Haut’s exquisite AOP Banyuls Rimage 2021 (Grenache, 16% abv, 80g/l RS), with its intense red and black fruit notes and hints of spice and cocoa.
Château Lauriga
Jean-Claude Mas
Château Lauriga, which was bought by Jean-Claude Mas in 2016, has 53 hectares under vine, all certified organic, but he revealed the estate received a paltry 50mm of rain last year.
“The vines were weak when we took over thanks to rough vineyard management, and were prone to fungus and disease,” he recalled. “Little by little we’ve been recovering the state of the vineyards. We’re just avoiding hydric stress, giving them 100mm of drip irrigation per year. In this climate, you need to work the soil so that the water percolates and doesn't evaporate.”
Some 80-year old Grenache Blanc bush vines provided 85% of the blend with Macabeu for the appealing Château Lauriga Soleil Blanc 2023 AOP Côtes du Roussillon. Its red counterpart – named Cuvée Jean 2022 – was a blend of Syrah (60%), Carignan (30%) and Grenache (10%) from vines aged 15-45 years old, yielding 30hl/ha. This showed superbly with red fruit, black olive, spice and herbal notes along with velvety tannins and real freshness.
Château Nadal Hainault
A short drive from Château Lauriga can be found Château Nadal Hainault, the idyllic site of a twelfth century Cistercian monastery that was partially destroyed in the French Revolution. Not long after it – in 1826 – the Hainault family bought the estate and celebrates 200 years of ownership next year. Their 27 organically-certified hectares include a parcel of ancient, very low-yielding (18hl/ha) Carignan vines that were planted in 1900 on limestone and clay.
The latest release is the 1900 Centenaire Carignan IGP Côtes Catalanes 2023. Matured in stainless steel, this is a special wine, notable for its freshness, minerality and concentration. Refined raspberry notes and silkily soft tannins dance across the palate. It is sold in the UK by Vindependents, which imports much of its impressive range.
Domaine la Pertuisane
Estate owner Richard Case
Some similarly old plots of dry-farmed Grenache bush vines in Maury are situated at the picturesque Domaine la Pertuisane, where owner Richard Case and his wife Sarah have melded seamlessly into the wine-making fraternity. Case, a graduate of Plumpton College, and his partner Dave Phinney, of California’s Orin Swift fame, favour big, rich, full-bodied wines. As beguiling as its label was wacky was the Green Eggs & Vin 2022 IGP Côtes Catalanes, a field blend of seven varietals from an ultra steep site: Grenache Noir (60%), Carignan (15%), Grenache Gris (15%), Macabeu (5%), Carignan Blanc (2%), Grenache Blanc (2%) and Alicante Bouschet (1%).
Cave Dom Brial
Agnes Arquier of Cave Dom Brial
Roussillon’s best-known co-operative, Cave Dom Brial, was established in 1923 and takes fruit from 200 growers, all of whom are members of the Vignerons Engagés association (‘responsible vine-growers’). As such, they must be certified bodynamic, organic or HVE. Of the 1700 hectares under Dom Brial's auspices, 200 are organically farmed.
“Our core value is to make quality wines,” winemaker Agnes Arquier says. She has 45 labels, including an entry level, low alcohol number (9.5%) named Brio Brial, which is made from Marselan. Her extensive Vins Doux Naturels included a superb NV AOP Rivesaltes Tuilé Hors d’Age that is imported into the UK by Hallgarten & Novum (RRP £20.50).
Some of the many other wineries...
Finally, there were a number of wineries that impressed without being visited. Château de Corneilla Cavalcade 2023, AOP Côtes du Roussillon, a blend of Macabeu, Grenache Blanc and Rolle, was made by a Catalan Scot named William Jonqueres d’Oriola, and showed very well. So too did the Domaine Torredemer Mangin Papillon Rouge 2023, IGP Côtes Catalanes, a blend of 60% Grenache and 40% Carignan. The latter is brought into the UK by People’s Wine, the Dalston-based importer. And for a fine AOP Maury Sec Grenache from 60-year old bush vines, look no further than Jeff Carel’s wacky ‘Under my Skin’ 2023 label. Concentration yet finesse were its hallmarks, like so many of Roussillon’s wines.
