Le Mas des Agrunelles La Valière 2022

La Valière is 100% Viognier on clay-limestone soil.
These parcels of white grapes face north to east. As harvesting is manual and time-consuming, the entire plot cannot be picked in the cool hours of the morning. For this reason, they harvest part of the vineyard the day before pressing and place the crates in a cold room until the following morning. 2 to 3 hours are enough to finish the vineyard and press in good conditions, as the temperature rarely exceeds 10°C.
The must is only partially settled so as not to strip it too much. Fermentation with indigenous yeasts at around 18°C lasts from 3 weeks to a month. Malolactic fermentation is not blocked (either by sulphites or sterile filtration), in order to remain faithful to the terroir. Fermentation and ageing is in earthenware jars. The wine is bottled just before spring with a very low dose of sulphur (2g per hectolitre).

After studying wine and oenology, Stéphanie and Frédéric met in Montpellier in 1999. The training that followed, with winemakers involved in biodynamic viticulture such as Didier Barral and Olivier Jullien, encouraged them to combine their passions and go even further. By dint of their convictions and experiments, they quickly turned to organic and then biodynamic farming. Farming that respects the soil and winemaking that uses no intervention or oenological products enable them to produce lively, subtle wines: expressive wines that are described as lively and natural.
Situated in a particularly cool part of the Languedoc, in Argelliers and Murles, they have been growing organic grapes since 2003 and biodynamic grapes since 2010 on around 25 hectares of vines.
The estate lies to the north-west of Montpellier, on the Terrasses du Larzac, a terroir that experiences significant temperature variations between day and night.
Historically a land of sheep and charcoal, its austere climate makes it difficult to grow large yields. This climate, combined with our fractured limestone, harmonious viticulture and hands-off vinification, means that they can produce deep, light and balanced wines.