The vineyard
For more than 15 years, we have been committed to bringing to life on the Terres de Saint Hilaire a balanced vineyard, a real laboratory for varied and demanding grape varieties: Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault and Carignan, characteristic of Provence; but also rolle, clairette and cabernet-sauvignon, more atypical.
We are committed to adapting a grape variety to each plot, to each terroir, on our 120 ha of vines. And if the average age of the vineyard is around twenty years, our oldest vines – some Cabernet-Sauvignon – were planted in 1967-68. The result is very specific reds: away from the very standardized tasting criteria of the competitions, these are fascinating wines to discover, which make amateurs aware of the strong emotions of the ultimate expression of a terroir. Wines that tell the story of the Terres de Saint Hilaire.
Culture and winemaking
From vines to wine, our credo is based on a few simple principles: practice a reasoned cultivation method, assign a grape variety to a terroir, to a suitable plot, select the grape for each harvest, vinify meticulously. This work, started 15 years ago, is now bearing fruit: all our ranges benefit from the Terra Vitis Label, guaranteeing respect for the plant, the earth, the environment and people.
In our 1930 cellar, constantly modernized since 2004, wines are produced that are both demanding and harmonious, as close as possible to the truth of the grape varieties and the terroir. Thermo-regulated stainless steel tanks have been added to the concrete-epoxy tanks, in which the cold is supplied by immersion heaters.
The aging of the reds and some of the whites is done in barrels as well as in two tuns.
The result ? Over a million bottles a year, which can be found in distribution under the Abbaye Saint Hilaire appellation, but above all, for our ranges of excellence, under the names Mas de la Marotte, Le Bois du Marquisat, Oppidum, Cerisiers, Tentation and sparkling Saint Hilaire.
Terra Vitis
The wines of Terres de Saint Hilaire are produced in a sustainable viticulture approach, supervised by the Terra Vitis label.
This approach is of course global: it applies from the treatment of the vine to the work in the cellar, including vinification. The rigor of this natural approach is total, and validated every two years by a complete audit of our methods, carried out by the label’s experts .
In order to develop wines that are as respectful as possible of the terroir, we sometimes go beyond the rules of the Terra Vitis label:
– We do not use mineral fertilizers , but exclusively organic fertilizers and composts, as in organic viticulture.
– We do not use synthetic pesticides ; we treat once or twice a year with copper – generally in August, the last treatment before the harvest.
– We have set up full traceability : the contributions that we can make to the vines to treat diseases are systematically recorded and must be justified.
– We rely on essentially animal weeding : as soon as the harvest is over, sheep graze in the vines in order to weed naturally. We made the choice to then leave a partial grassing in the rows of vines.
The result today is a product that is completely free from all traces of phytosanitary products, but also a land that breathes and lives!
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