Independent winegrower, organic, in the Minervois and La Livinière, at the foot of the Montagne Noire
In Félines-Minervois, the Borie de Maurel estate has farmed some 30 hectares of vines in a designated mountain area since 1989, in the heart of the AOP Minervois. One terroir, one conviction: to make a convivial wine, in deep harmony with what the sky and the earth offer here.
It all starts in 1989. At the entrance to the estate, an old turquoise sign still welcomes visitors. Three decades later, the same spirit guides every gesture, every decision, every vintage.
The project has not changed: to make wines that speak of the place, with no concessions to fashion. Certified organic farming since 2010. Careful selection of plots, matching each grape to its terroir. Long, patient winemaking, without artifice.
The vineyard stretches across the foothills of the Montagne Noire, at times up to 300 metres, on a mosaic of soils rarely found in the Minervois: the black schists of Ventajou, which give the wines their mineral tension; griot marble, which brings finesse and length; the limestone marls and siliceous clays of the high ground; the crushed sandstone, flint and limestone of the petit Causse.
And then there is the air: the north wind battling the scorching south, the coolness flowing down from the ridges at the end of summer days, the Mediterranean pushing its salty air masses all the way here. This balance between mountain and sea gives the wines a freshness uncommon in the Languedoc.
The estate's 30 hectares have been farmed under certified organic agriculture since 2010, at the rhythm of the plant and the soil — not the other way round. A range of grapes chosen to express each terroir: Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache and Carignan for the reds; Marsanne, Chardonnay and Vermentino for the whites.
For the single-vineyard cuvées, grapes are picked by hand into small crates, from old vines kept to low yields. The whites are picked in the cool morning hours, at the edge of over-ripeness, to keep their aromatic tension.
In the vat — that cauldron where the heart of the wine beats — winemaking does not seek to transform but to reveal. No oak ageing, for any cuvée: all the wines are aged in tank only, so the terroir can speak unmasked by wood.
Long macerations, up to 45 days for the most structured reds, with whole berries for the high-altitude Syrahs. Direct pressing and cold settling for the whites, ageing on fine lees. Patient ageing, 15 to 18 months for the signature cuvées.
All the estate's wines have been certified organic since 2010 (Bureau Veritas, FR-BIO-10), carry the “mountain wines” label (Félines-Minervois lies in a designated mountain area) and are aged without oak.
The estate is a member of the Vignerons Indépendants: vineyard, cellar, bottle and sale, all under one roof, in Félines-Minervois.
In the heart of Félines-Minervois, the estate opens its doors to wine lovers for a guided tasting of the cuvées that tell its terroir. A moment out of time, between the Montagne Noire and the garrigue.
From the convivial Esprit d'Automne to the legendary Sylla, by way of La Féline, Maxime, Belle de Nuit, La Belle Aude, Gypse, Le Rouget, Le Charivari and Le Vin du Sorcier Le Phénix — each cuvée is a child of this land.
Borie de Maurel
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