Our philosophy is based on respect for our ecosystem.
The vineyard
Our entire vineyard is bordered by strips of Mediterranean vegetation or hedges to protecting the local flora and fauna. Whenever possible, we leave grassed rows in our vineyards to prevent erosion and ensure a natural aeration of the soil and microbial life. We also use compost and plantations of lucerne and grasses for 5 years to regenerate our soils, during the vineyard renewal phases.
Waste
Today, the waste from our agri-food business have no negative impact upon the environment. We have a connection to the public drainage system for our viticultural effluents, and we are equipped with a “Phytobac” system to allow for the natural decomposition of our residual phytosanitary waste in rinsing water.
Our Team
We have been certified “responsible agriculture” since 2008. This certification is important to us, as it demonstrates to our customers that we respect all the French and European norms and regulations concerning the working and safety conditions of our employees, together with viticultural and oenological best practice.
In the Vineyard
Our vines are cultivated without undue mechanization. All work on the surrounding vegetation is done by hand, as is the grape harvest. The work is done carefully and gently. This allows us to limit vineyard renewal and keep our old vines in good health. At present, the average age of the vineyard is 50 years. From year to year we are trying to be more and more respectful of the environment. With this aim in mind we have willingly signed up to be a member of the government’s “ECOPHYTO” network. This network has as its target the reduction by 50% of the phytosanitary products used. This network aims to implement decisions taken during the Grenelle Environment Round Table meetings. And after 10 years, the results are encouraging, since we’ve managed to reduce their use by 30-50% depending on the vintage.
In the Winery
Here we also try to be as respectful as possible of the grapes. Hence they are picked and sorted by hand into small stainless steel skips. Without crushing, they are then gently poured into vats using only gravity to avoid unnecessary damage to the grapes. They are fermented according to terroir and to grape variety in order to respect the differing levels of ripeness of the various batches. The temperature of the vats is then controlled extremely carefully and adapted to each different wine and each different year. The transfer of the grapes from the vats to the wine press is done manually and without a pump, the grapes being fed by gravity alone into the pneumatic wine press. Pressing is long and gentle to extract the best juice.
The wines
The wines are matured in steel or concrete vats for a minimum of 18 months to allow them to clarify naturally. They therefore have no need for fining and are only lightly filtered to preserve the optimum flavours and aromas. We also have wines that are matured in oak barrels for between 12 and 30 months. This process is used for the terroirs with the greatest ageing potential and which require a period of micro-oxygenation before bottling. We ourselves undertake all blending and bottling using the very latest equipment and with an almost obsessive respect for all the steps that go into the process of making great wines.
The estate “EARL Archimbaud Vache – Le Clos des Cazaux” has been recognized as a
HIGH ENVIRONMENTAL VALUE ESTATE