The domain

The domain

The domain CIRY CATTANEO is an estate created in 2015 by David Ciry, consultant oenologist and Marion Cattaneo, chocolate maker. This small organic 6.5 ha estate is based in Laure Minervois, in Languedoc, between Carcassonne and Narbonne, where vinification and aging are carried out. The vines are located on two very distinct terroirs: clay-limestone valleys at altitude in the villages of Siran and La Livinière and sandstone terroirs in the village of Laure Minervois.



The project





The project was driven by a long-standing desire and inspired by a very particular terroir: Plots of altitude (between 350 and 400 meters, in the town of Siran, above the Minervois la Livinière cru), facing the south, In a valley with deep clay-limestone soils to avoid water stress as much as possible.

The guidelines of the estate are among others the work of the vineyard in organic farming and the realization of all the work in an artisanal and manual way in the vineyard as in the cellar.

The creation of the estate follows that of the Marions les Chocolats de Pennautier chocolate factory in 2013, which we had already wanted as a 100% artisanal project.

The estate then expanded in 2019 with both the acquisition of an additional 2.7 ha in the village of Laure Minervois, as well as the planting of new plots (Syrah, Roussanne and Grenache Gris, Lledoner pelut, Rivairenc and Piquepoul noir) on the Fournes à Siran terroir.


The terroirs

The original vineyard consisted in all and for all of 5 plots: Grenache noir (0.9 ha), Syrah (0.7 ha) and Carignan (0.3 ha) for the AOC Minervois. Two other small plots of Malbec (0.4 ha) and Tempranillo (0.3 ha) are the source of the Domaine's Vin de Pays d'Oc micro-cuvées.

These old vines aged 30 to 80 years, on a late terroir, give wines with a greater freshness and aromatic profiles different from what can be conventionally found in the Minervois. Yields are between 10 and 30 hl / ha.

The terroir of Laure Minervois on sandstone allows us to interpret the wines differently: Three additional plots acquired in 2019 (1 ha of 30-year-old Syrah, 1 ha of 49-year-old Cinsault, 0.7 ha of 65-year-old Grenache Gris) are at the origin of the second range of wine of the domain (white, rosé and red). Average yields are between 20 and 35 hl / ha.

Vinification

The grapes are pushed to full maturity, then harvested 100% by hand, with an important first sorting in the vineyard. They are then transported in 20kg boxes to the Laure-Minervois cellar then re-sorted, destemmed and crushed before fermentation.

The philosophy of working in the cellar is based on intra-plot vinification: Each plot is divided into different lots depending on the heterogeneity of the maturity of the grapes. These powerful and concentrated grapes require rigorous and delicate work.

Each batch is vinified and aged separately in small stainless steel vats. The extraction is carried out largely by punching down, but unballasting or pumping over can also be used depending on the tasting. Vatting usually lasts 3 to 6 weeks. Press wines are systematically isolated and processed separately.

The aging is carried out in stainless steel vats, or in barrels for one year for the Les Hirondelles cuvée or the micro-cuvées.

The SO2 added during vinification is reasoned as much as possible, without however taking any risk of organoleptic deviation. The wines do not exceed 70mg / l in total.

After maturing the batches separately, blending is the crucial step that will give the profile of each of the wines. New vintages, ephemeral or not, will then be able to emerge, such as La Curiosité 2016, a Grenache Noir 100% made from the most arid part of our Grenache plot.
To find us:
Le chai
The vineyard
Our wines
Red AOC Minervois wines
Special vintages
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