Andrew Graham looks at some imports (and more)
- Posted by Terroir Selections
- On August 20, 2014
- 0 Comments
Jonquières, Languedoc – France
The soils of the different vineyards vary from argilo-calcaires (clay over limestone) for the reds, pebbles for the whites and sandstones for the new Carlan cuvee.
In 1985, the vineyards were mainly planted with Carignan, Grenache and to a lesser extent some Syrah. Now the vineyards comprise the following varieties:
Red (16 hectares)
White (4 ha)
Olivier Jullien follows the principles of Biodynamic viticulture, with soil cultivation or cropping, natural grass in the alleys, use of compost in the vineyards, etc. Yields are generally around 30hL/ha, obtiained by pruning down to 8 buds per vine and elimination of the lateral shoots.
Olivier Jullien has made a lot of experiments in terms of winemaking to get to the current techniques. For instance, in 1985 the harvest was not destemmed and it was whole bunch fermentation. In 1989, Olivier tried to use no Sulphur. He also went from 100% new oak 1993 for the reds to no oak in 1994 and then to new large oak (demi-muids – 600L) since then.
Current winemaking practices are the following:
Whites
Reds