My first fourteen hectares (35 acres) around Jonquières have now expanded to around twenty (50 acres) to take in land near St Saturnin, Montpeyroux and the hamlet of Lagamas where I live, vinify and cellar the wines.

 

It’s ideal vine-growing land : arid, stony clay and limestone soil at the foothills of the Cevennes mountain range below the Larzac plateau. The climate is great too : cold in the winter, warm in the spring and autumn, with hot summers bringing the grapes to full maturity in peak condition.

 

There’s usually enough rain to keep up the water table levels, but the vines have to send their roots deep down for moisture, an effort that’s great exercise : it helps them stay strong and healthy.