AOC Languedoc-Roussillon, AOC Côtes du Rhône,
AOC Provence, Vins de Pays, Customized wines

DOMAINE DE LARZAC

General overview :

Near (Not far from) the town of Pézenas, Château de Larzac was built on an ancient site dating back to the arrival of the Etruscans in the Languedoc in around 700 B.C … The Château, which is in the Tuscan style, was rebuilt by (from?) the beginning of the 17th Century by G. Grangeon, intendant to the Princes de Montmorency who were Governors of the Languedoc state.

Pierre and Claudie Bonafé have owned Château de Larzac since 1993. In 1999 they, decided to embark on a new and exciting project : to extend the Domaine (Estate) to 80 hectares (=200 acres), plant new vines and build a completely new winery. About forty per cent of the Domaine is in the "appellation contrôlée" zone "Aoc Coteaux du Languedoc".

The vineyard extends over 60 hectares (=150 acres). Forty hectares have been replanted or largely remodelled. The vines' density (density of the vines) is 4000 plants per hectare. The trellising is supported by pine stakes, 1.80 m high. The bottom wire is 80 cm above the soil. The vines are systematically pruned to "double cordon royat". Two lines of movable wires allow the vine shoots to be gradually attached as they grow.
The foliage can grow upwards by about 1 meter every season (year).

The vines are planted facing northwest to allow (let) the plants (to) make the most of the warm sunshine and regular dry winds in this part of the Hérault River valley. The foliage (leaves) is (are) particularly very carefully trimmed.

The northwest wind, the well-known "Mistral" which blows down the Rhône Valley (called "Terral" in this area which means "vent de la terre" or "wind across the land"), frequently blows in winter and summer. lt helps keep the atmosphere (environment) dry.

The varieties (Cépages) in this "appellation contrôlée" (AOC) zone are :
- Syrah (around 14 ha), Grenache (around 7 ha) and Mourvèdre (around 2 ha) in the red wine vineyards.
- Roussanne (around 3 ha) for white wine vineyards.
Merlot (7 ha), Cabernet Sauvignon (around 6 ha), Sauvignon Blanc (around 6 ha), Chardonnay, Marselan, Cinsault, Carignan, Muscat petit grain etc … can also be found here.

The winery building is traditional Languedoc in style but it hides a state-of-the-art,
21st-Century winemaking facility. The winery, with a total capacity of 5700 hectolitres, was built in 2002. The different sizes of the tanks (150 or 100 hl) allow a separate winemaking process for each vineyard plot. White grapes are harvested ai night when it is relatively cool. The juice destined for white or rosé wines is kept in an inert atmosphere during the process. They are settled out for 48 hours at a temperature of less than 10°C.
The cooling process allows perfect control of fermentation and is monitored by a central control system. Cleanliness (Keeping everything clean) is essential and the greatest care is taken with equipment hygiene and in the storage area.

(At present) We (currently) produce 4 wines
- Château Larzac AOC Languedoc rouge
- Château Larzac AOC Languedoc rosé
- Domaine de Larzac Vin de Pays d'Oc Roussanne Chardonnay
- Domaine de Larzac Vin de Pays d'Oc Merlot.