IGP Côtes Catalanes, Louxar, Paetzold - 2017

The property is located in the communes of Belesta and Caramany, in the Pyrénées-Orientales, on the old French-Spanish border of the 18th century. On 17 hectares, the soils are made of gneiss and granite more or less decomposed. The vineyard, entirely on the hillside, is situated at an altitude of between 250 and 450 metres, in the foothills of the Pyrenees. The climate here offers no less than 300 days of sunshine per year, but only 300 mm of water, with a tramontana that acts as an air conditioner.The estate is in certified organic culture. Replanting is done using massal selections made from the oldest vines. Pruning is carried out according to the lunar rhythms, in gobelet for the carignan and grenache and in cordon for the syrah. Yields are generally low (between 12 and 25 hl/ha). After manual harvesting in crates, the grapes are destemmed, sorted and then vatted by gravity, without pumping, in temperature-controlled containers. The wine is worked by gentle manual punching of the cap. The long fermentations take place using indigenous yeasts. The resulting wines are penetrating with intensity, purity and light, like their landscapes, but are devoid of any woody heaviness or alcoholic heat. A tour de force!