Domaine LA TOUR VIEILLE - Collioure

Domaine La Tour Vieille - VignArtea

ROUSSILLON    COLLIOURE & BANYULS    13 ha    SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE    WINEMAKER : Vincent CANTIÉ


ESTATE HISTORY


Easily to find thanks to the old stone tower that gave it its name, the Domaine LA TOUR VIEILLE is not located in the village's heart of Collioure, it dominates it, perched on the heights.
Created in 1982 by Vincent Cantié, an agricultural engineer, in order to preserve the family's winegrowing heritage, the vineyard has gradually expanded to cover a total area of 13 hectares.



TERROIR


The Albères foothills, where the Banuyls vineyard is located, are composed of very ancient schists of granitic origin: they are among the oldest terroirs in Europe whose formation dates back to the primary era, and more precisely a period ranging from the Ediacaran (-635 to -540 My) to the Cambrian (-540 to -488 My).
The rocks of the Collioure and Banuyls vineyards are of the metasedimentary type, that is to say a sedimentary rock formed by the deposition and solidification of sediments, then subjected to an increase in temperature and pressure during tectonic movements which will create modifications of its mineral composition as well as its structure.

In Collioure, the soils date from the Ediacaran period and are composed of schists called schistes de Canaveilles, more or less metamorphic, as well as feldspathic sandstones and black shales (formation de Cabrils).
This schistose bedrock, which is exposed on the surface, forces the vine to take deep roots in order to find its water resources, which are essential in summer.

As for the Banyuls terroir, which dates from the Cambrian period, it marks, compared to the Collioure terroir, a break in sedimentation conditions with the disappearance of the volcanic component and the appearance of pelites, i.e. sedimentary rocks that have evolved in a lacustrine or marine environment.
They are called the Jujols series, which shows a lower metamorphism than the Canaveilles series.
Located on these schists on steep slopes, the vineyard benefits from a remarkable amount of sunshine, whose dry conditions, often accentuated by the tramontane, are nevertheless beneficial to the health and maturation of the grapes.



WINEGROWING & WINEMAKING


The steep slopes of the terraced vineyard make mechanization impossible: the work is entirely manual and the viticulture is consequently very reasonable. The latter has evolved very little in these places and remains very close to the one practiced by the ancients. The interventions in the vineyard are thus very limited and the vineyard could benefit from the BIO label if the domain wished it. The sunshine and the tramontana are the most effective remedies to fight against the vine diseases and thus allow the domain to free itself from any use of synthetic phytosanitary products.

The grapes are harvested by hand and spread over several weeks depending on the degree of maturity of each grape variety and the winemaking method is traditional, with the least intervention possible. Fermentations take place naturally and the wine is aged in stainless steel vats, oak barrels or glass carboys depending on the type of wine produced.
The wines are not fined, but slightly filtered before bottling.

In the Collioure designation, the range of red wines goes from the fruitiest and juiciest - LA PINÈDE - to the most complex and robust - PUIG ORIOL. All of them are aged in stainless steel and/or concrete vats in order not to mark the wine and to let the grapes develop their aromas as naturally as possible.
I pay particular attention to the PUIG AMBEILLE cuvée, composed of 70% Mourvèdre, a grape variety that the Domaine La Tour Vieille vinifies wonderfully: this wine is of a rare finesse and aromatic elegance, it is both ready to drink in its youth and offers a beautiful cellar potential for over 10 years. In white, LES CANADELLS offers a generously fruity and aniseed profile and has a beautiful amplitude in the palate.

In the Banyuls designation, the estate offers us a beautiful range of white and red wines, all with identity and character, from the youngest to the oldest, without forgetting the so-called "outside" wines of the designation, rancios, classified as "Vin de France" and which are not fortified but matured in anoxidative mode. The choice in red Banyuls is rather vast, and I like the variety of aromas that the different type of vinification allows to develop. The BANYULS RIMAGE MISE TARDIVE is the youngest one: this fortified wine is raised a few months in stainless steel tanks and sheltered from the air, which allows it to keep all its fruitiness.

The BANYULS RIMAGE MISE TARDIVE is a Banuyls Rimage that has been aged for 15 months in tuns and sheltered from the air, which gives it more complex aromas of cocoa and spices. Finally, there is the BANYULS RÉSERVA, a fortified wine which has undergone an oxidative ageing, this time in glass carboys exposed to the wind for a year, and which is then blended with a must also aged in an oxidative mode but in oak barrels for several years; its aromatic profile is totally different, more oriented on cocoa and candied fruits.

Outside designation, the rancios, already rarer, are particularly successful: these wines are not fortified, they continue their fermentation until the end, so they are dry wines. Once the fermentations are over, they undergo an oxidative aging in oak barrels, matured under a film of yeasts for the white MÉMOIRE D'AUTOMNES, and a red wine of Soléra for CAP DE CREUS, stemming from a perpetual reserve started in 1968 and of which I give you more details directly in its product sheet.


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