Collection: Clos des Centenaires
France - Rhône
[A magical terroir nurtured by Mediterranean breezes and history]
Surrounded by century-old olive trees and majestic oaks, Clos des Centenaires is a magical place where nature and the passage of time take on new meaning and where ancient vines thrive in abundance.
Located less than 2km as the crow flies from the ponds of the Petite Camargue Nature Reserve and less than 20km from the Mediterranean Sea, the area benefits from a uniquely mild and stable climate, with winds such as the Mistral alternating with Mediterranean breezes.
This allows the growing season to start very early, allowing the grapes to ripen gently and for a long period in a climate that is warmer than elsewhere in the region.
Located on a 7 hectare hill in the heart of this exceptional region, the young vines are planted in a north-south orientation on the south-facing slopes, while the older vines (Grenache, Syrah and Cinsault) are trained in a Gobelis style on the south-eastern slopes in an east-west orientation.
A few hundred metres south of Clos, in Mas des Centenaires, the winery is surrounded by 22 hectares of vineyards that also benefit from the bounty of this coastline.
Harvesting is done by hand and is timed to achieve the optimum balance based on daily tasting and visual inspection of the fruit.
For the white wines, the grapes are directly pressed and, after a relatively light cold settling, fermented in stainless steel tanks, barrels or large wooden vessels, using predominantly wild yeasts and without malolactic fermentation.
The red wines undergo maceration and alcoholic fermentation in concrete or stainless steel tanks. Fermentation is carried out using wild yeasts, with the grapes partially or completely destemmed depending on the vintage. Extraction is primarily by pumping over.
Depending on the vintage, different ageing methods are chosen: in tanks, in Burgundy or Bordeaux-style barrels, or in natural stone vessels of various sizes. For the red wines, after alcoholic fermentation, malolactic fermentation begins spontaneously in the tanks or barrels.
