Château de l'Ou 'I Love L'Ou', Côtes Catalanes 2021

The grapes come from the AOP Côtes de Roussillon, where the vineyards are located within a natural amphitheatre open to the Mediterranean Sea, and are surrounded by mountain ranges. The climate is Mediterranean, strongly influenced by cooling coastal
breezes combined with mountain-freshness from the foothills of the Pyrenees which balance the hot, arid summers. The vines are grown on the Roussillon plains where the soils are made up of alluvial marls with black schist, which imparts great aromatic complexity to the wines, characterised by notes of black fruits, garrigue and freshness. The vineyard is certified organic, no herbicides or chemicals are used. Yields are kept
low to ensure good concentration of the pure fruit flavours and the fruit is hand harvested at optimal maturity.

Each variety was vinified separately. The grapes underwent a short maceration at cool temperatures to extract the colour, flavours and tannins. Fermentation took place at controlled temperatures of 14 to 15°C with selected yeasts in stainless steel tanks, to retain the purity of fruit and freshness. The wine was made in an unoaked style

Château de l’Ou is a dynamic, organic estate in Montescot, Roussillon owned by oenologists Séverine and Philippe Bourrier. Purchased in 1998, they immediately converted to organic farming, an avant-gardist approach in Roussillon at that time, and the estate is now certified by Ecocert. The estate, which originally comprised 30 hectares: 26 hectares of vineyard and four of olive trees, has been gradually expanded by adding plots from across the region, by 2018, it covered a further 45 hectares. L'Ou’ translates as ‘egg’ in Catalan, and refers to an ovoid-shape resurgence of water that was located at the site of the property, which Séverine and Philippe wanted to bring to life in their project. Together, they use their expertise to cultivate the Roussillon terroir with its heat and arid lands to hand-craft wines using a variety of fermentation vessels, from terracotta and sandstone amphora to barrels, producing stunning, supple cuvées which showcase this distinctive terroir

Unlike most French regions in 2021, Roussillon, often on the fringes weather-wise, suffered the most severe drought in the last 10 years, with barely 200mm over the season. A cold winter resulted in late budburst. The cool weather continued late spring, however, flowering went well. Water reserves in the soil were in short supply, fortunately the summer was not as hot as the last five years, resulting in a perfectly healthy crop.