Z życzeniami dla wszystkich, którzy tu zaglądają. Pierre Casamayor, człowiek, który o winie wie
wszystko i wszystko to możemy znaleźć w jego książkach, odwiedził posiadłość
Clos Centeilles tej jesieni. Dla
wszystkich cytuję poniżej wyciąg jego artykułu, który ukazał się w "Revue
du Vin de France" w grudniu. I na
dziś tyle wystarczy.
SPOTLIGHT ON A DOMAINE
CLOS
CENTEILLES
The Lost Grape Society
For
more than twenty years, Patricia Boyer-Domergue has devoted herself with
passion to this ancient grape variety in the Minervois. Here, she has succeeded
in creating original and fine wines.
Report and
tasting by Pierre Casamayor
“These are bloody lousy vines”, responded Pierre Galet, the pope of
ampelography, to Patricia Boyer-Domergue who was questioning him on the
pertinence of replanting long-forgotten native Languedoc grape varieties.
After the phylloxera catastrophe,
the old native Languedoc vines were not reintroduced into the vineyards. Of
those grapes which reign today, Grenache, Carignan, and Mourvèdre are all
originally from Spain, and the invasive Syrah is from the Côtes du Rhône. The true
Languedoc grape varieties of yesteryear are mostly only found in the collections
of the Vassal domaine within the French National Institute of Agronomic
Research.
In
the era of reconstruction after the calamitous hybrid episode, we neglected the
old vines (Riveyrenc, Araignan and Picpoul etc.) essentially for cultural and
economic reasons. The wine had to be produced; and in large quantities, but
with a low yield, a low alcohol content, low resistance to disease and
difficult to graft, these varieties had no real desirable qualities.
Others,
it should be said, only produced uninteresting or poor quality wine. We also
should be wary of old fashioned customs and the “wisdom” of the elderly,
because these are the same people used to who nail owls to their barn doors to
ward off evil spirits !
Some
vignerons refused to be dissuaded and we have to salute them, because either by
conviction or curiosity they have made the effort to restore the viticultural
heritage within their regions. Especially as the known problems with these
vines are today quite possibly their acknowledged qualities, particularly their
low alcohol content in an age where everyone else is only interested in other
varieties.
Patricia
Boyer-Domergue in her Clos Centeilles is one such vigneron, following the
example of a Plageoles at Gaillac, or a Navarre at Saint Chinian or a Count
Abbatucci in Corsica. Her story starts in 1990 when Daniel Domergue and
Patricia Boyer fell madly in love with this little patch of land in the middle
of nowhere, which is suspended above the terrain of La Livinière, and leans against
the Black Mountains.
Everything
here had to be restored; buildings, cellar, and of course the vineyard, but the
13th Century Chapel nestling in the middle of the vines attests to the
perenniality of this vineyard which is almost prehistoric; for instance the
Carignan vines here are over 100 years old. The domaine was originally occupied
by an ancient order called in Occitan “Les
Centeilhas”, or “The Hundred Widows” in English. They were an ancient female
order who amongst their daily duties welcomed travelling pilgrims. Because of
their predicament, they also wanted to have children and according to legend,
to increase the possibility of conception they had to show devotion to the
Virgin by going round the chapel nine times. Quite obviously, this place can
only be fertile.
A vineyard with 20 grape varieties
The
vineyard is divided into small parcels, with south facing terraces surrounded
by dry stone walls, in a natural and isolated environment. The microclimate is particular
to here, both sunny and cooling at the same time, with the soil made up of siliceous
sandstone which has an ample natural water storage capacity. Tasting of the 2003
demonstrates that water stress doesn’t exist here. Patricia, today alone at the
helm, clearly doesn’t believe in high densities in the Languedoc climate, and the
12 hectares have been planted with between 2,500 and 3,300 vines per hectare. Twenty
different varieties have been planted, so the work is long and hard: It takes
four weeks for the harvest, all by hand of course, with the maturity times
spread out.
Here,
they don’t hesitate to wait for the optimal maturity, even if it means picking
off the leaves to preserve the growing conditions, and it means that they can
collect the grappillons – the small unproductive grape bunches, to increase the
acidity. The soil is worked. A part is pruned back to lyre, which is ideal for
periods of drought, and the rest is pruned back to either gobelet or palissage (trellised). The vines in the
domaine are carefully managed, but since Patricia is frightened by the
condition of “organic” vines and the diseases which go with them, she has to
treat them - but it’s kept to a minimum. “I
treat with sulphur and copper, but I’m struggling against the flavescence dorée
!” says Patricia.
Riveyrenc
(or Aspiran), Oeillade (or Araignan), Black, Grey or White Picpoul are next to
Cinsault, Carignan, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre. The average yield is 32
hl/ha. The Cinsault in the La Capitelle parcel is singular, and these vines are
pruned very low and produce small seeds. These last-mentioned produce a wine
surprising in its finesse which restores to favour this variety, often held in
contempt. Patricia had a brainwave while tasting a Rayas Cinsault at 8hl/ha
which made her decide to see how far she could go with this variety.
The winery reflects the site; biblical. The steel vats with their
various contents, a refrigeration unit and a small press. It’s necessary to
juggle between the different cuvées and vinifications. The whites are pressed
immediately, open to ambient temperature, vinified without yeasting, extracted
and kept on fine lees with regular batonnage,
or gentle agitation. Malolactic fermentation isn’t systematic, and bottling
takes place in June.
The
claret comes from a night’s maceration of Riveyrenc, with juice from the
carbonic fermentation of Carignan. It is then vinified like the white. The reds
are destemmed or vatted as whole bunches for carbonic maceration, punched down
and racked & returned, then fermented on wild yeast – Patricia cultivates
her own leaven. The alcoholic fermentation period or vatting is long, from one
to two months. The wine is then run off and racked by gravity every three
months, because here, we don’t like reduction. It is then kept for two years
and finally lightly fined and bottled at the domaine. A portion of the Clos
Centeilles is aged in casks.
Vines pruned to last
Despite
the long alcoholic fermentation period (recommended by Prof. Yves Glories,
former dean of the Bordeaux Faculty of Oenology), and the long vatting time,
the wines from Clos Centeilles suggest keeping before opening. They can
sometimes be quiet when young. Even the 2012 white (Riveyrenc and Araignan) is reserved;
however the 2008 has a finesse and an aromatic complexity with a fruity freshness.
The
La Part des Anges Claret (Riveyrenc,
Carignan, and Black Picpoul) is a real pleasurable wine, and well structured.
The
pure Carignan wine undergoes carbonic maceration, Carignanissime,is both rich and energetic , with a
fruity crispness from the grape, but without producing
the rustic notes which often accompany it.
The
Campagne cuvée (Cinsault and Syrah) is full bodied, with refined tannins. However
we have to wait until the 2004 vintage for smoothness and a length of pure
fruit and spice.
It’s
the C de Centeilles cuvée, produced from old varieties (Black Picpoul, Black
Riveyrenc, Oeillade, and Morastel) which possesses notes of wild berries and
small cherries with a refined texture and expressive with a complex finish. This
wine sets itself apart as delightfully
easy to drink.
The
Clos Centeilles cuvée (Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre) is a delightfully complex Minervois-la-Livinière,
with smooth tannins and substantial notes of spice. It’s
a cru which reveals itself slowly, promoting its intensity.
The
pure Cinsault Capitelle de Centeilles,
stands out in the Languedoc. This wine echoes Pinot with an inimitable
fruitiness, a complex aromatic finish, and a smooth and satin texture which
places it in the category of wines of grand finesse. This wine will surprise
those that think Cinsault produces wines of poor quantity.
Identity
Card
Terrain: 10.5 hectares for red
(20% Picpoul, 7% Syrah, 10% Mourvèdre, 10% Grenache, 20% Carignan, 27%
Cinsault, 6% others).
1.5 hectares for white: (40% Grey Grenache, 60% others)
Average Annual Production: 54,000 bottles
Type of Agriculture: Sustainable viticulture
Address: Clos
Centeilles, Campagne de Centeilles, 34210 Siran
Telephone: 04 68 91 52 18
E-mail: contact@closcenteilles.com
Web: www.closcenteilles.com
Owner: Patricia Boyer-Domergue
|
SPOTLIGHT ON A DOMAINE
3 Questions to Patricia Boyer-Domergue
What has been your approach to wine
?
I
started my pharmacist studies, and then I swung towards wine with a two year
technical degree (BTS) at Montpellier
and another as an unregistered student at Bordeaux, but always with inspirations
during wine tastings. I moved here after buying 9 hectares at Centeilles.
What do you most remember about
your time as President of the La Livinière cru ?
I
tried to advance things, but my actions were limited. We created a collection
of old grape varieties supervised by Jean-Michel Boursiquot, and selected healthy
vines for future replanting.
What’s the future of Le Clos ?
I
almost had to sell it on. The work here is very hard and my style of finesse
and sensuality is different from that of local enthusiasts, who are fond of
power. But my daughter Cécile wants to come back to the domaine, and so I have
to invest in order to hand it over to her. I have built a cellar to keep the
old vintages.