AOP Pic Saint Loup
The wines of the AOP Pic Saint Loup owe much to the work of men, but also to a unique terroir and climate that find their origins in the geology and geography of the places.
Tasting, terroir and landscapes
The history of this terroir is beautiful; initially, it’s a poor area, with a harsh environment, populated by sheep farmers and farmers. But the winemakers of the time believed in its potential. There wasn't much room... This limited the production of large volumes. Also, creating great wines is a choice of passion but also of reason.
The garrigue vines
It was necessary to remove the stones and shape the soils and landscapes; plots had to be won over from the garrigue; this is what we call the clearings or the garrigue vines; it shapes mosaics of landscapes, alternating vines, olive trees, pine forests, expanses of garrigue, and sculptures of limestone forged by time.
This open garrigue that mingles with the vines is a whole universe of flavors and scents: thyme, rosemary, menthol, licorice... A richness and a diversity that bring a freshness, a liveliness and contribute to the aromatic complexity of the wines of the AOP.
A millennia-old history
If we go further back, the terroir of the AOP draws its origins from the very formation of Pic Saint-Loup. At the end of the Jurassic, the region was covered by the ocean. Millions of years of sedimentation will create the limestone that today forms our garrigues.
During the uplift (*) of the Pyrenees, 40 million years ago, this limestone was pushed up over dozens of kilometers. Sliding along the fault from Saint-Gély-du-Fesc to Corconne, the layers of limestone would bend and rise until forming Pic Saint-Loup.
Today, the plots and the appellation area of Pic Saint Loup are found on both sides of this fault. It is a bit like the backbone of the appellation, its link, its visceral anchoring to its geological history.
From this history, the terroir will retain a palette of extremely varied soils: hard limestones, soft limestones, conglomerates, dolomites, screes, fluvial limestones, and marls. A geological diversity that guarantees both drainage and the retention of water necessary for hydric balance
*Uplift: gradual raising of a part of the Earth's crust to form a mountain.
With a little attention, you will be able to detect in tasting a reference to these limestone soils; it is a small mark that comes through in the finish; very light, with very fine tannins and all in softness.
A unique climate
Finally, the AOP Pic Saint Loup benefits from a unique and very favorable climatic situation, at the crossroads of a continental climate and a Mediterranean climate. The mistral and the tramontane bring cool, dry air that protects the vineyard from the advances of the humid "marine," a factor for diseases.
Thanks to the foothills of the Cévennes, the Causse de l’Hortus and the Pic Saint-Loup, these winds that can be violent are here regular and moderated. But maritime entries bring significant precipitation, essential for any cultivation, by clinging to the first reliefs of the Cévennes.
With this favorable microclimate, the temperature amplitude between day and night is significant. It is also this nocturnal freshness that we find in the mouth and contributes to very elegant wines, full of finesse and with a rich and delicate aromatic complexity.
A wine from the AOP Pic Saint Loup is:
- Appellation area
17 communes
73 estates
3 cooperatives - The wines
90% red
10% rosé - Main grape varieties (red & rosé)
Syrah at least 50% for reds and 30% for rosés
Grenache noir
Mourvèdre - Minimum aging duration (for reds)
12 to 24 months
on average, depending on the cuvées - Production
45,000 hl/year
6M bottles
38 hl/ha average yield
