Slowly a few lieu-dit are being called out in the Roussillon appellation.  One such area is Calce.  This is mostly due to one specific vigneron, Gérard Gauby, who has set a new standard of quality for the area.  My base is Maury, but one can go in any direction and find yet another valley of incredible vines.  It could take months to figure out exactly what each site/soil imparts to a wine.  For now, we follow the leaders.  In addition to Gauby there is Olivier Pithon, another strong proponent of the Calce region.

Gauby has been making wine from his family’s vines since 1985 (before they went to the local co-op). His approach to his vineyards has changed over the years and therefore so have the wines.  The early wines were huge and massive and lacked the kind of focus and finesse that we taste today.  Some of this was probably growing up, and the other was a shift in farming practices.  I believe that he is strictly bio at this point, as is his protégé Olivier Pithon.  Gauby was instrumental in Pithon’s arrival in Calce (from calcaire) but Stephane Derenoncourt was the person that gave Olivier permission to be fully passionate about all things vinous.

I had the pleasure of meeting both men and a chance to talk briefly about the harvest.  But as they were in the full swing of the vendange, there was not enough time to fully discuss or visit the vineyards.  We agreed to spend some quality time among the vines when I return in the spring.

Leaving Estagel on D1

Incredible and Diverse Flora

Sisyphusian Rock Walls

Permanent Town Signs

Calcaire Hilltop

Shist Soils In Addition to Calcaire

Another "Routine" Leafy Canopy