Domaine Cazes                      

In the heart of Roussillon, by Rivesaltes, the Domaine Cazes has 160 hectares that each year produce 15 different wines.

Because the estate grows so many different varieties and produce so many different wines, the harvest programme begins in mid-August, when they gather in the Chardonnay, Muscat a Petit Grain and Macabeu grapes, and does not end until mid-October, when the Grenache grapes are harvested.

They abandoned chemical weed-killing in favour of ploughing over 15 years ago and became officially organic in 1998. In practice this means they are strictly supervised by ECOCERT. In fact, they’ve been using biodynamic products on all the vines since 1997.They also make a large proportion of their own compost based on the only organically raised ewes in the Roussillon, enriched with 7 biodynamic leavening agents. Under the name BIODYVIN, biodynamic practice is also controlled by ECOCERT.

The wonderful climate can have negative consequences, such as rapid overripening in as little as 24 hours or a lack of acidity during very dry years. Therefore they have to be extremely vigilant in overseeing every stage in the growing cycle of the vine.

The vast amphitheatre that makes up the Roussillon vineyards, bordered in the East by the Mediterranean, in the South by the Pyrénées and in the West by the hills of Corbières reveals a multiplicity of soil types. Sometimes blackish, because of schistous materials; sometimes white, when the soils are formed by limestone debris from the mountains; sometimes red, when clay dominates; sometimes yellow ... these soils make up a wonderful mosaic, carpeting the hillsides and the steep mountain slopes.

Cazes is very much a family run business that produces mainly AOC (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée) biodynamic wines on the mid-slope terraces of the Vallée d'Agly, situated around the communes of Rivesaltes and of Salses-le-Château, whose soils are made up of siliceous materials, large pebbles, limestone and marls.

Since 1895, when the first vines were planted, the Cazes family has devoted itself to wine with a zeal that has been handed down to each generation.

The main vines used in the wines we featuure are:

• Syrah, 35 ha (86 acres}; Mourvèdre, 9 ha {22 acres}; Carignan, 2 ha (5 acres}: used for the production of Côtes du Roussillon reds and for Côtes du Roussillon Villages.
• Grenache Noir, 30 ha (74 acres),  used for the production of Côtes du Roussillon reds 
• Muscat a Petits Grains, 16ha (39acres); used for the production of the VDP D'Oc white.
• Cabernet Sauvignon, 10ha (25 acres); Merlot 6ha (15 acres); Sauvignon Blanc, 1ha (2 acres): sold as “Vins de Pays” since these three grape varieties are not yet authorised for the production of AOC wines in this region.

All of the vineyards are situated on clay and limestone rolled pebbles formed from the alluvium swept down the slopes of the Corbières mountains. One particular feature of the micro-climate is that it is intensely dry; most of the land has an annual rainfall of less than 400 mm (16 ins). Two major benefits include an almost non-existent danger from cryptogamic (parasitic fungus) type diseases, and the fact that the natural undergrowth dries up exceedingly fast once the hot weather starts. The result is a third benefit : the yields are naturally very low.

For more information on the family's biodynamic practices click here