L'ARGILE 2017 (Saint-Jean du Barroux)

DESCRIPTION

L'ARGILE is a wine from a predominantly clay soil, hence its name, and it is made from a blend of four black grape varieties : Grenache noir, Syrah, Carignan and Cinsault.

TERROIR

The vines are planted on a terroir dating from the Middle Stampien, one of the geological stages of the Oligocene which extends from -34 to -23 million years ago. It marks one of the major events experienced in the region, a period of plate distension during which many rift valleys and basins are formed under a sub-tropical and dry climate with very thick clay deposits.

Clay is known for its natural water retention properties which will allow the vines to better withstand the summer droughts in the region.
The yield is however willingly limited to 20 hl/ha, so that the bunches are well aerated and can benefit from optimal maturation conditions.

WINEGROWING & WINEMAKING

The vines are cultivated according to Organic Agriculture principles and in accordance with the Agroforestry rules : tall grasses and wild plants are kept at the vines foot, it is also not rare to see aromatic plants such as wild thyme there !
The grapes are picked by hand, and they are destemmed in the cellar. About 25% of the finest stems are kept, they are carefully sorted so as to keep only the ripe ones because they will be added to the grapes in the tank during the maturation phase which lasts about ten days.

This wine-making technique, with presence of very ripe stems, confer to the wine a full-bodied juice, without any asperity.

The must is then pressed and it continues its fermentation and its ageing phase in concrete vats and in a few old oak barrels for 24 to 30 months.

It is not fined but only lightly filtered before bottling.

Small detail that is important : the bottle is closed by a cork of the DIAM's brand, specially designed to guarantee zero wine's contamination by the cork, called "cork taste", thanks to the use of the cork flower previously cleared from the molecule responsible for this aromatic deviance.