Le Petit Domaine de Gimios ‘Rouge de Causse’ Rouge 2021

Location: France, Languedoc-Roussillon

Winemaker: Anne-Marie & Pierre Lavaysse

Grapes: Carignan Noir, Carignan Blanc, Grenache Gris, Grenache Blanc, Grenache Noir, Mourvèdre, Cinsault, Syrah, Aramon, Muscat à Petits Grains, Œillade, Riveyranc…

Soil: limestone

Winemaking: grapes are co-fermented and vinified unfined, unfiltered, with zero SO2 added.

‘Rouge de Causse’ is made from a parcel located in the Hamlet of Gimios, in the Minervois. ‘Causse’ means limestone plateau. This is an ungrafted (original rootstock, not American rootstock) site which was planted back in 1856 (over 160 years ago!). The site is quite isolated and Phylloxera has not found it’s way there. When looking at this parcel it’s like sitting front stage of Flamenco dancers. The site is co-planted with Carignan Noir, Carignan Blanc, Grenache Gris, Grenache Blanc, Grenache Noir, Mourvèdre, Cinsault, Syrah, Aramon, Muscat à Petits Grains, Œillade, Riveyranc…

From us at M&L: What is the proper term to describe ‘a wine that has seemingly been drawn from, clawed from, freed from a large rock’?

Anne-Marie Lavaysse and her son Pierre bought their farm in 1993, and the vines there had never been sprayed or really worked for decades. Anne-Marie painstakingly revitalized the plots without any external inputs - she utilized only tinctures from the vegetation growing among the vineyards as treatments. Pierre is running the show now, in the same way.

These are special wines: romantic, and pure as a stone atop the causses. ‘Rouge de Causse’ is a true field blend of 12(?) native grapes, the vines of which predate phylloxera — over 160 years old!! Old vines like this are a treasure, and Anne-Marie and Pierre understand what it means to take care of them.

Day 1: deep and savory — earth and umami. Day 2: The fruit arrives fashionably late with a profound weightlessness for all of its textural nuance. This is a real winner for morsels of rustic cheese, game, or rich stews.