l'Arête de Thau Piquepoul Terret, Côtes de Thau 2023

The vineyards cover 670 hectares which overlook the Mediterranean Sea and are bordered by the Étang de Thau, the largest lagoon in the Languedoc. Along with the sea, the Étang de Thau tempers the hot, dry climate and reduces the thermal differences between day and night, resulting in fresh, fine and mineral wines. The soil is characterised to the north by a vast clay-limestone plateau, and to the south by a plain consisting of mainly sandy deposits. The grapes for this wine come from the clay-limestone plateau, where the clay retains the moisture to hydrate the vines during the hot summers and the limestone produces elegant wines. Terret, an ancient native grape variety of the Languedoc Roussillon, along with Piquepoul, also a native variety of the region, both produce crisp, dry white wines. The vineyards are cultivated using sustainable cultivation methods such as the use of sexual confusion for 70% of the vineyards and weeding for 20%, thus reducing the use of sprays. 90% of the vineyard is certified HVE3 and 50 hectares are organically farmed. The harvest takes place in the cool of the night to retain the freshness in the fruit.

The grapes were destemmed and cool macerated for two hours followed by gentle pressing in a pneumatic tank. The must was cooled to 4°C with static decantation prior to fermentation with selected yeasts. Fermentation took place at 13 to 15°C in stainless steel tanks to retain the pure fruit flavours and lasted for 12 to 18 days, before being racked and aged on the fine lees.