Le Pelut
I first met Pierre at Salons de Vins Libres in Alsace, where the complex aromatics and savoury, pastille structure of the cuvées he was showing upended my understanding of wines vinified by carbonic maceration. I have since visited his cellar on several occasions, in an isolated biotope close to Limoux, close to where his vines grow. Even in July, under the relentless southern sun, the surrounds of his cellar and vines are remarkably verdant, owing to the microclimate this pocket of the Languedoc enjoys.
Pierre is originally from the Loire valley, and after studying agriculture, rural conservation, and heritage, he took farm work wherever he could find it. During stints in wine cellars, Pierre observed the juice transforming into wine, and he knew that this was the course he wanted to take.
While working for his friend Sylvain Saux of Domaine Pechigo, Pierre got the lucky break he had been waiting for, hearing of a parcel of vines that the owner was not going to harvest. It had never been treated with chemicals, and it was due to be pulled up and replanted. Pierre negotiated with the owner and acquired the fruit, producing his first vintage, just 2 barriques. A few years later, another parcel came up to rent, and Pierre took the opportunity, though that first year his naivety taught him a valuable lesson. He used no treatments at all, and lost the entire crop. Since then Pierre has been fastidious in his vineyard management, as steady handed as is possible, and has harvested every vintage since.
Pierre’s vines are split across two blocks, a hectare of Merlot in Villarzel, a south facing slope that’s among the highest in Malepère at 300 metres, on the typical clay and limestone of the region. The other holding is La Mothe, with 4 hectares under vine as part of an 11 hectare polyculture. Here Pierre has 20 year old plantings of Pinot Noir, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Chardonnay on a northern tilting slope on clay and limestone at 180 metres of elevation. This site is particularly isolated, surrounded by fruit trees, hedgerows and grasses, a real oasis of tranquillity.
Everything is certified by Ecocert, and Pierre harvests all his fruit by hand. At the cellar, nothing is destemmed, the reds are all vatted in whole bunches and pressed after a few days. After pressing, the wines age on the lees in a mixture of stainless and resin vats, with Pierre liking how the microporosity of the resin influences the wines as they age. Elevage usually runs for 12 to 18 months, after which long bottle ageing in cellar before release is common.
Highly individual, Pierre’s wines are built on a structure of mineral density, complex bitterness, and savoury fruit, making them remarkable pairing wines.
Alongside his wines, Pierre distils a selection of elegantly perfumed eau-de-vie with the fruit he harvests from the trees at La Mothe, and each year produces a piquette that he sells for export.
