Life
in Mas d'Intras n° 5 - PDF
version here
PAPY
ALPHONSE'S 80ST BIRTHDAY
On
March 28, 2009 we celebrated Papy Alphonse's 80st birthday in
a nice little restaurant near Intras.
He was happy to have not only his brothers, sisters and sisters
in law with him that day, but also his 4 grandchildren (9, 11,
11 and 13 years old).
Alphonse
and Françoise are in good health. They are always available
for our "emergency errands" and they do like to help
a hand during the sales at the Parisian depot.
Alphonse was born in 1929 in the family home of Intras, the
Mas on our label. On this picture of 1939 he is standing in
front of it.
THE
WINE OF INTRAS IS NOTHING NEW
About
2000 years ago, the Romans of Alba planted vines in the "Vallis
Vinaria", the Valley of the Vines that is now Valvignères.
In 1941 Alphonse did take this picture of our grandfather Félix
ROBERT pressing his grapes in the family courtyard of Intras.
Ever since the creation of the Cooperative Cellar in 1952, Alphonse
did become member and brought his grapes there until 1981.
In 1976 Alphonse and Françoise start to nurture the idea
of creating their own wine cellar. They are both nostalgic of
the time grapes fermented at Intras and they would like to install
their 2 sons. Between 1980 and 1982, and with the help of numerous
friends and his sons Denis and Emmanuel (13 and 11 years old)
Alphonse builds the cellar.
MAS
D'INTRAS - SINCE 28 YEARS
After
delivering his grapes to the Cooperative Cellar during 30 years
Alphonse empties his first trailer of Mas d'Intras grapes on
September 15, 1982. He is accompanied that day of his nephew
Sébastien, who was 7 at that time. It is Françoise
who is receiving the grapes in the cellar.
Françoise holds the very first clusters of 'Mas d'Intras'
grapes in her hands.
Denis
enters the family estate in 1986 and Emmanuel in 1993. Sébastien
is joining them in 2005. Since January 1st 2010, Sébastien
and Denis manage the Mas d'Intras together.
A
NEW CHALLENGE FOR TWO
Back
problems forced Emmanuel to quit the Winery from January 1st
2010. He is now turning towards a future without tractors and
we hope he will soon find a new balance.
Our employees Magalie (Emmanuel's wife) and Ida, stay on our
sides. Together we take up the challenge: life goes on...
But it is not easy to turn the page of 24 years of collaboration
!
GRAPEHARVEST
2009
The
2008 millésime did give us a lot of work to do, but finally
all this labour hasn't been in vain. The 2008 millésime
ended up being generous and luscious. The wines we bottle this
spring are all quite different. And that is precisely what we
appreciate in natural wines. Each vintage year offers the vintner
a possibility and material to another expression of his art.
2009
not only was a much easier vintage year to handle than 2008,
it simply is an excellent millésime.
Our range of wines this year offer you the possibility to make
an oenoligical discovery trip through the last three vintage
years: the 2007 red wines are deep and typical. The 2008 wines
are not as coloured but they are very spicy. You can also yet
appreciate the freshness of the 2009 white and rosé wines.
Enjoy !
CONVERSION
TO "ORGANIC"
Our
official conversion to Organic Agriculture started on July 31,
2009,. This means that millésime 2012 will be our first
vintage year vinified from grapes officially stemming from organic
agriculture.
In
1998 we made the choice of working in a way that would as much
as possible respect the environment. Little by little, our work
became more in harmony with nature, from the vineyards to the
bottling. Our conversion is the achievement of 11 years of efforts.
Ask
us for our flyer "The
philosophy behind our work", updated in 2009.
DEPOT
IN THE PARIS AREA
Since
1983, our cousin's old farmhouse in the Chevreuse Valley is
the place where we receive our clients 4 times a year. Sometimes
clients are almost in "duel' to find out who is the oldest
client… in décembre 2009, a faithfull client from
the opening of our depot thought he was our oldest client…
but I had to declare him K.O. for his 'opponent"' did already
buy at a sale in 1983 before the opening of our depot. These
"duels" are very pleasant!
VACATION
IN VALVIGNERES
The
two hotel-restaurants in our village have been beautifully renovated.
You will find several vacation rentals, guest rooms, and restaurants
in our area, ranging from simple to more luxurious.
If you need some advice, you can ask us. We also keep some flyers
at your disposal with lots of interesting addresses for an unforgettable
stay!
