My Vineyard
The passion of winemaking and the respect of the wilderness
Fourth generation winemaker
History and terroir
Rooted in the history of the minervois for generations, my vineyard of 30 hectars in Sainte-Valière (Aude) is a continued knowledge of vine and wine especially through the 1907 local revolution. Vines have been grown here since the roman empire, making them one of the oldest vine cultivating regions in the world.
Vines are cultivated according to IGP and AOP regulations. We cultivate different varieties such as Grenache, Carignan, Mourvèdre, Cinsault, Floréal, AND Caladoc…
Soils, despite the droughts, are well known for their water holding properties and are mainly composed of clay and limestone. Full south orientation of the vines for ripeness, a bit of altitude and also step hills for freshness, all contribute to making greats wines.
Respectfully working with soils and wilderness
My Commitments and labels
I work with agro ecological methods to better life within and above the soil, to this end I use cover cropping with different species and i always look formward to innovative techniques.
As part of DEPHY FARMING (fermes dehpy) I work to reduce pesticides with natural solutions like essential oils , fermented extracts, local manure and without chemical fertilizers.
With HVE label i have a full traceability as part of my harvest goes with the cooperative of Argeliers being part of the local economy. I’m part of the independent winemakers and iIproduce with IGP pays Cathare and Vin de France.
Passion and quality
Portrait
A native of the region, i’m the fourth generation of winemaker in my famil i’ve been travelling for years in the new world (argentina and canada) before coming back in france, working with different wineries and in the vine research field before i took over the family vineyard.
At 33 i am now cultivating approximately 30 hectares with local varieties like genache for my winery and the cooperative.
Mathieu Cathala
Independent Vigneron
Technique and tradition
The winery
Every wine is meticulously worked, as micro winemaking with low yield vineyard and small batches requires constant attention. i’m using stainless steel tanks and use cold belts, nitrogen blending and manual punch downs to extract as much fruit as possible. my aim is to use very low quantity of sulfites.
Some of my wines are aged in old oak barrels.
