Montirius covers the wine classification areas of Gigondas, Vacqueyras and Côtes du Rhône. Christine and Eric Saurel are the fifth generation of winemakers and took over the family domain in 1996. Their personal life pathway and a deciding meeting with François Bouchet in 1996 (a bio dynamic wine maker from the Loire) resulted in their converting their 60 hectare farm. Six years later they invested in the building of a winery. So as the winery vibrates at the same frequency as the site, the vats were constructed using ‘informed’ water for the cement mix (the memory of water).
In 2013, Justine Saurel, eldest daughter of Christine & Eric, started working at the domain and acquired 5 hectares of biologically certified vines. With a diploma in ‘Viti-oneo’, wine making and oenology and a diploma in wine marketing, she has already participated in 9 vinifications, both at the domain and overseas! With her parents, she vinifies her own range of wines called ‘La Muse Papilles’, Côtes du Rhône White, Rosé and Red. The winery building was designed to be the extension of the vines so as to stay in permanent contact with the living world, because the wine is a medium of transmission of information from the soil and the sub soil. Built in harmony with the site, the winery can receive the entire harvest without having to de-vat; therefore the grapes have the necessary time to give of their very best.
The choice of harvest date is made after tasting the grapes. The vinification starts with maceration (a fruit salad) before the alcoholic fermentation so as to extract the fullness and aromas of grapes picked at full maturity. The maturing is done exclusively in concrete vats without interior coating, and in bottles, to allow the full expression of the fruit. The Montirius wines are characterized by their delicacy, their elegance, their balance, a surprising freshness and minerality for wines from southern France.
‘Strength combined with velvet’ is the citation of Jean M...