Bistro Freres Wines      THE VINEYARDS   | home | area | history of its wine | our story | vineyards | purchase | contact | | 2004 harvest | 2005 harvest | early 2006 report | The vineyards Each of our three separate vineyards has its own name, called a “lieu dit” in France. Our largest plot of vines – Couillade des Marchands (or, the pathway of the merchants) - is 5.0 acres in the rolling lowlands of the valley floor just to the north of Maury in the nearby village of St. Paul de Fenouillet. A creek runs through it and two persimmon trees, even in late autumn, were bursting with fruit. Under the trees is a picnic table, no doubt used by field workers for their mid-day meal and a little siesta. Our dry white wine from Couillade des Marchands is made primarily from Grenache gris and Grenache blanc but also incorporates some Carignan blanc,  a seldom seen old varietal that brings an attractive nose to the finished wine. We find that these old white grape varietals lend a crisp minerality to the wine which makes it refreshingly different yet approachable and excellent with food. We anticipate 2006 will be our first bottling of our white wine, limited to 100 cases which will be available in the United States in the Spring of 2007. From our smallest (1.0 acre) vineyard, Bac de L’Arboussa Ouest ( a north facing vineyard directly across the road from Mas Amiel, the region's most famous estate) comes our first old vines Grenache. This vineyard was in the best shape at the time of our purchase with vines 40-75 years old. The vineyard planted 600 feet above the valley floor and looks directly at the mountain-top Cathar castle, Chateau Queribus. The wine we produce from these vines is a deep, lush, silky and spicy red, round in the mouth, smooth over the tongue and the back of the throat, and generous in black fruit and Asian spice flavors. It is a key element in the blending of our Sanglier Volant. Our problem child, but one with the greatest potential is la Florine,  2.5 acres of poorly tended ancient Grenache (perhaps as old as 100 years), mixed in with some Grenache Gris and Carignan Blanc. The vines are compact, gnarled, and capable of bearing perhaps a cluster or two per vine. When we discovered the vineyard, it had been long neglected by its previous owner and overrun with brush. Located on a steep hillside overlooking the village of Maury, the vineyard has mostly north facing slopes, remnants of stone terraces and a ravine with running water.  La Florine is set against a pine tree line and boar tracks were everywhere. This plot, though neglected, had new growth on 75% of the vines, but very little fruit. Abe consulted with the local experts, traveled to Chateauneuf-du-Pape and visited hundred-year old vineyards in Priorat in the midst of the same kind of recuperation. He put together a pruning strategy to restore the plants to maximum health and produce grapes of the highest quality (pruning vines back to one or two buds only). This translates to about one bottle of wine for every ten plants. Within four or five years, we will have the vineyard ready for maximum production – one bottle for every two plants. The resulting wine will have such intensity that we may hold it as long as two years in old barrels to round out the flavors.