The Vineyards and Winemaking

We pride ourselves on the diversity of our parceles which adds to the complexity of our wines.

The Syrah parcel, in the village of La Livinière, and the Grenache/Syrah/Cinsault and Vermentino  parcels in Borie de Moligne, are characterized predominantly by silt, clay and limestone slopes.

The parcel in Félines, with very old Carignan vines, springs from soft clay soil with traces of marble and schist.

The average age of the vines is more than 20 years, with age varying from 8 to over 55 years.

The Black Mountains shelter this hillside region trapping both heat and sun during the day providing cold currents in the evening and during night. The resulting high diurnal difference adds to the quality of the grapes.

We believe in the slogan that «good wine is made in the vineyard». Our focus is on organic farming, with minimum treatment of vines and only with substances in line with organic growing. Soil preparation is performed regularly to avoid the use of herbicides and organic fertilizers are preferred to chemicals. When pruning, the focus is on limiting yield to increase quality.

Harvest of the grapes is done manually, with family and friends from abroad and from the village.  

For the white wine and rosé destemming is performed before the wines are being pressed gently in a pneumatic press and then fermented in temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks. Fermentation temperature is around 16 degrees.

For the red wine destemming is performed before the grapes are fermented, either in temperature-controlled tanks (for the Hibou and Vieilles Vignes) or in 400 L French oak barrels (for Cuvée Somi). Fermentation temperature is around 24 degrees.

Some 4-5 months after fermentation and maceration the Hibou and the Vieilles Vignes wine is bottled, while Cuvée Somi spends another 12 months in oak barrels.