Chateau de L’Ou Secret de Schistes Blanc
WHY WE LOVE IT
- Philippe Bourrier is a pioneer in organic viticulture and Chateau de L’Ou is a certified organic farming operation.
- They pay close attention to the life of the soil, allowing good deep development of the roots to promote the best expression of the terroirs.
- Secret de Schistes Blanc is grown in black schists and is situated at 350m height, on the Maury terroir.
Varietal Composition: 100% Grenache Gris
Elaboration: Skin maceration of 4 to 5 hours at 5 degrees in 300 liters new barrels for half part, fermentation between 16 and 20 degrees with agitation every day.The other half part is put in earthenware jars, with the same winemaking process, to keep all the delicacy and freshness of the fruit.
Tasting Notes: This pure Grenache gives up plenty of peach, lemon curd, white flowers and hints of minerality on the nose. Medium to full-bodied, concentred, with a kiss of background oak, it’s beautifully balanced and elegant on the palate.
PRESS
2018 – 92 – 94 Jeb Dunnuck
2019 – 94 Jeb Dunnuck
2020 – 95 Jeb Dunnuck
2022 – 94 – 96 Jeb Dunnuck
PRODUCER BACKGROUND
In 1998, Séverine and Philippe Bourrier bought the 30-hectare estate in one piece, planted with 26 hectares of vines and 4 hectares of olive trees in the town of Montescot in the Pyrénées-Orientales, 10 km south of Perpignan. The entire property was immediately converted to Organic Farming. Today, the estate includes additional terriors in the Haute Vallée de Agly, including in Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet and Caudiès-de-Fenouillèdes. All vineyards are organically farmed.
Chateau de L’Ou was named because of the area’s heritage. “L’Ou” in Catalan means “the egg” in French: it is the named after the property location, because in the beginning there was an ovoid-shaped resurgence of water in the area. The Mas de L’Ou, which seems to have been exploited by the Templars, was a place of passage very frequented by the mule drivers of the region.