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CLOS CENTEILLES
At Centeilles, in spite of all opposition, we continue to rehabilitate the oldest Languedoc grape variety recognized by the AOC: the refined, yet misunderstood Cinsault.
CAMPAGNE DE CENTEILLES
A "wine for tasting" and not a "wine for smelling', it has found a nice little niche with its elegance and femininity, thanks to our sommelier and restaurant friends, who know that this cuvée can face up to any other wine in the "empty bottle test", and who do not hesitate to sometimes even serve it with fish.
CAPITELLE DE CENTEILLES
The quintessence of Cinsault: a very sheltered parcel from which the grapes are gathered extremely mature, the n crushed by treading, followed by seemingly endless vatting (2 months under pomace). The result is a wine which is as atractive as a gourmandise.
When speaking about vintages of Cinsaults from Centeilles, and the cuvées CAMPAGNE and CAPITELLE, a ceratain number of annoying people told us when we arrived at Centeilles in 1990: "You were lucky, this was an exceptional year". In 1991, the same people argued: "The ripeness is no doubt late compared to 1990, but you profited from good climatic conditions in the late season". In 1992 (rainy in spring, dry in the summer, no equinoctial autumn rain, but dull grey weather during the whole of the grape harvest) these incorrigible Cassandras argued: "You've done pretty well; it has rained everywhere except at Centeilles". And so forth…
In short, vintages go by: CAMPAGNE and CAPITELLE carry on as usual, thwarting all obstacles and giving us, every year, cuvées that are each different but every bit as good as their elders. This is due, it is true, to a privileged terroir and costly but effective cultivating practices.
Then, as we go on, we allow ourselves certain paradoxical attitudes, even going so far as to make a place of honour (moved by its sudden disfavour) for our long-hated grape variety, and the most recent immigrant to our region (it only arrived a century ago), the Carignan.
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