We started the day with a quick visit to the vineyard to see our adopted vines, where we took a few souvenir photos. We also learnt about what has been happening in the vineyard at the moment, what work has been done since last year’s harvest, and how the vines have come back to life in the spring.
We learnt how the vines had been pruned, a long task that had finished three weeks earlier. The cut branches had then been pulled from the vines and left between the rows to be crushed.
When we returned from the vineyard, we visited the cellar from top to bottom. The questions flowed. What is a wine without sulphites, why do you use selected yeasts, and many more such topics. We talked in detail about the different processes between making red and white wine.
We then tested our sense of smell with the help of 12 bottles containing different aromas. This exercise would help us find some of the words to describe the wines that we were to taste later.
Lunch was served in the sun on the terrace. The winery’s rosé Dolce Vita 2016 wine was served in a jeroboam for the aperitif. We tasted different wines, paired with local charcuterie and a lentil salad; the Cinsault Abuelo 2015, a Carignan Gourmand 2015, and the Cousu Main 2013 in a magnum. With the goat’s cheese from the nearby Mas Roland, we tasted the Tribu d’A white 2015, which goes perfectly with cheese. We finished the meal with the Grande Cuvée La Belle Histoire 2015, a great vintage for Languedoc wines. With the delicious almond cake and profiteroles, we enjoyed a coffee.
After lunch, we returned to the cellar to taste three of the wines from the 2016 vintage that are still in the ageing process. Each of the wines was of a different grape varietal, enabling us to learn the different characteristics of Cinsalut, Syrah and Mourvèdre. The wines are still young, and full of carbon dioxide following the fermentation. But they were also very soft considering the stage that they are at, and already enjoyable to drink.
Having tasted these different wines, the next exercise was to have a go at blending them together. We learnt that blending the different grape varietals together gives a deeper and more complex final wine.
By the end of the day, we had learnt many new things about wine, and will have a few stories to recount when we open the next bottle!
Comments
-
This was our favourite of the three days. The presentation in the cellar was very interesting, clear and passionate. The workshop on the aromas was a great way to prepare for the tasting (maybe you could include this in each of the days!), and the blending a great discovery!
Many thanks to you all. -
Thanks for your comments and glad that you enjoyed the day!
The aroma workshop is indeed a great way to help better talk about the work in the cellar to age and blend the wines, because the different aromas found in wine are often used to describe the differences. The Discovery Experience Day being more focused on the work in the vineyard and the Harvest Experience Day on the work during harvest time, we prefer to leave more time during these days to get involved in the work in the vineyard and fermentation hall. And that also means that we can cover more ground in each of the three days to make them more complementary to one another to learn the most. -
Magnificent family winery. Very welcoming and charming wine-makers, very nice co-participants, and above all delicious wine!
Envoyé le Mardi 13 June 2017 by Claude C.