Domaine Lafage Cantaca 2022
Bright golden yellow colour. Very intense, exotic nose with notes of pineapple and mango, apricot and peach, mingling with floral and cedar notes. The palate is full of these aromas, with excellent length sustained by great freshness. A sapid, gourmet finish.
The Chardonnay, Petit Manseng and Chenin grapes come from a hillside near Limoux (continental climate), on clay-limestone soils. The Sauvignon Blanc grapes are planted on the heights of Saint-Martin de Fenouillet, at an altitude of 450 m, on granite arena and black schist soils. The vineyards are cultivated using Regenerative Agriculture: with low-density plant cover, no ploughing and using Biochar, a carbon-rich compound obtained from the pyrolysis of green waste acting as a micro-sponge and which increases the biological, chemical and physical fertility of soils. Different methods of ""cultivating water" are being tested, a commodity which has become so precious and scarce, particularly in Roussillon, that has been hit by extreme drought.
The Chardonnay, Petit Manseng and Sauvignon Blanc grapes are cold macerated on skins for 24 hours. Juice stabilization for 30 days and fermentation in casks with ageing on lees for 18 months.
| Vintage | 2022 |
| Alcoholic strength | 13.5% |
| Country | France |
| Grapes | Chardonnay 40%, Petit Manseng 30%, Chenin Blanc 20%, Sauvignon Blanc 10% |
| Residual sugar (g/l) | 2 |
| Dry/Sweet value | 1 |
| Contains sulphites | Yes |
| Vegetarian | Yes |
| Vegan | Yes |
| Milk | No |
| Eggs | No |
| Organic | No |
| Biodynamic | No |
| Closure | Cork |
Domaine Lafage, situated between Perpignan and the Spanish border in Côtes Catalanes, Roussillon, has been run by Jean-Marc and Eliane Lafage since 2001. They travelled spending many a season harvesting grapes and making wine in South America, the United States (California), South Africa and Germany before settling back in the Roussillon. The estate, with 7 generations and its two centuries of winemaking history dating back to 1798 prides itself on producing fine and elegant wines from the mosaic of vineyards in this dry, windy and rugged landscape. For over a decade, Roussillon has been grappling with the full force of climate change and the Domaine has transformed its viticultural practices in recent years. Their emphasis on sustainability and climate resistance in the form of regenerative agriculture including water monitoring together with earlier harvesting to gain freshness is laying the ground to face any challenges that the future may bring.
