Domaine Lafage Centenaire Côtes Catalanes 2023
Pale bright colour, aromatic on the nose. Mineral notes of wet gravel, crushed rock, flavours of pear, honeysuckle, vanilla, quince and white currant notes give this wine character and richness. Beautiful fresh length.
The 100 old bush vines are planted in Canet-en-Roussillon, facing the Mediterranean Sea on stony gravelly soil close to the foothills of the Pyrenees from the Quaternary era. Yield is 35 hl/ha. The grapes are hand harvested in two lots: one lot is picked early and is barrel fermented, the 2nd is picked when lightly overripe to give complexity to the blend.
Maceration on fine lees before racking and the component parts are blended before fermentation. 70% of the wine is aged in stainless steel vats on fine lees for 3 months; 30% of the wine is aged in new French barrels with batonnage.
| Vintage | 2023 |
| Alcoholic strength | 13% |
| Country | France |
| Region | Roussillon |
| Subregion | Côtes Catalanes |
| Grapes | Grenache Blanc 40%, Grenache Gris 40%, Roussanne 20% |
| 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 | Diam |
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.
