Life
in Mas d'Intras n° 1 - PDF
version here
SÉBASTIEN,
OUR COUSIN,
JOINS AS THIRD ESTATE MANAGER
Sébastien
joined us in March 2005. He is a highly qualified winegrower
and vintner after 7 years of experience in different estates.
He brought a heritage of 1.5 ha vineyard to the estate, which
had been rented out for 27 years. He very much enjoys the fact
that these vines will be cultivated again by the family.
Sébastien and his uncle Alphonse in 1982 - Sébastien
in 2005
OAK
BARRELS :
WE PREFER THEM SECOND HAND!
Sébastien
has experience aging wine in barrels. For that reason we recently
bought 50 high quality second hand oak barrels. He would like
to mature a special Cuvée in these barrels. The sheen
of the wood should contribute to the blend without dominating
it as the wood of a new barrel would do.
Starting autumn 2006 we'll be able to enjoy the result, probably
a blend of Merlot and Cabernet 2005 (Cuvée du Dardaillon
2005) and a blend of Syrah, Grenache and Carignan (Cuvée
Ferdinand 2005).
Our
50, still empty barrels, July 2005
ECOLOGICAL
WINING:
WELCOME TO OUR "TOURNESOL"!
We
did invest in a machine that ploughs the soil underneath the
vines: the "Tournesol" (sunflower).
Our grass grown
vineyard - The Tournesol
PLANTING
OF 2 HA SYRAH
Because
of the drought of the last three years, the yield of Syrah has
been small and we were not able to produce our Rosé "Les
Aïlles". This year we planted 2 ha of Syrah at Saumassac,
next to the house of Alphonse and Françoise. These plants
will produce wine starting 2008.
CELLAR
INSTALLATIONS
The connection between our solar heating and the cellar
allows us to save energy and money..
The catwalk
around the pneumatic press.
BOTTLING
LIKE IN THE OLD DAYS
In
order to avoid the expenditure of having the bottling truck
come to our estate, we started bottling again with the old machines
of Grandpa Alphonse. At the end of 2005 we will invest in a
semi-automatic bottling machine.
