Chateau de L'Ou "Secret de Schistes" Rouge Côtes Catalanes

Chateau de L’Ou “Secret de Schistes” Rouge Côtes Catalanes

WHY WE LOVE IT

  • The vineyard terroir for Secret de Schistes Rouge consists of Schist Mosaics of the Upper Agly Valley at 325m altitude.
  • 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.

Varietal Composition: 100% Syrah

Elaboration: Manual harvests on small yields (12hl/ha) and “Integral Vinification”; the grapes are put directly into barrels for alcoholic and malolactic fermentation. Aged for 12 months.

Tasting Notes: The garrigue is expressed on the nose accompanied by a bouquet of violet. The powerful and rich palate seduces with its complex aromas of thyme, cistus and rosemary.

PRESS

2018 – 95 Jeb Dunnuck

2020 – 94 Jeb Dunnuck

2021 – 92 – 94+ 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.