| Borie la Vitaréle |
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It’s always a joy to visit Borie La Vitaréle in
the northern hills of St. Chinian and speak with Jean Francois and
his wife Cathy. “Respect for the soils…Respect for the
wines” – this is the philosophy that Jean Francois lives
by as he tends to his vines and makes some of the most impressively
balanced, yet concentrated, wines in the entire region. Jean
Francois makes wine for all of the right reasons and many of his domestic
compatriots could learn a great deal from his passion when it comes
to crafting wines that reflect harmony with nature. Les Schistes is
produced from vines grown in the rocky schist area of his vineyard
containing quartz and other mineral components. This soil type imparts
a unique character on “Les Schistes” (55% Grenache, 40%
Syrah and 5% Carignane) by giving it solid structure and full-bodied,
ripe fruit. “Terre Blanches is from another part of his vineyard
made up of a combination of limestone and clay soils that makes for
juicy, plush fruit and very soft, approachable wine. Get to know the
world of Saint-Chinian – great things are happening to wine as
more progressive styles and techniques take hold.
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| Domaine Rimbert |
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In just 10 years, Jean-Marie Rimbert has established an international reputation
as one of the leading young winemakers of the St. Chinian appellation. A native
of Provence, he arrived in the early 90’s to manage a vineyard for Château
de Flaugergues and after 5 years scraped enough cash together to purchase the
first of his parcels – attracted to old vine Carignane and the schist-dominated
soils in the north of the appellation. Today Jean-Marie has 20 hectares spread
amongst 40 diverse parcels, locally called travers, each with a different
soil composition and exposition, but with the common thread being that of the
Carignane grape. “Carignan is my Pinot” Jean-Marie likes to say and
with small yields of 30hl/ha, his wines show elegant fruit and concentration
and true expression of St. Chinian terroir.
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