We invite you to visit us here in La Caunette, to enjoy a nice moment and discover our beautiful village, little medieval city nestled at the foot of a cliff.
This picturesque site is the beginning of many little hiking trails. See you soon.

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From Monday to Friday : 9h00 – 12h30 / 14h – 18h00

Saturday et Sunday : Only on reservations.

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  +33 4 68 91 21 95
• E-mail
  coupe-roses@wanadoo.fr
• Address
  4 Rue de la Poterie, 34210 La Caunette

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News

Château Coupe-Roses Olive Grove

Our olive oil and its benefits

Our olive grove is planted on terrace uplands. The olive trees benefits of a very clement mediterranean climate. The trees aren’t irrigated and their growth took more than ten years to offer us a real production.

We planted local varieties : Picholine, Lucques, Olivière, and others that came from Vallée du Rhône : Aglandau and Bouteillan.

The harvest is late in the season, we let the olives ripen as much as possible ; The harvest is then made manually, by netting the soil under the trees. We obtain a very fine oil, very fruity, with a ardent and complex final on mouth. We bring the harvest in a little mill, without any leaves or stem. The olives are then pressed by the grindstone, and the resulting paste is pressed mechanically. We obtained an oil, which is a “Première pression à froid” (First cold press literally).

Benefits for the health

Olive oil is rich in antioxidant, like vitamine E and polyphenols (also presents into wine), which prevents from heart disease, some cancers, and slow down the body’s aging. Olive oil is also rich in monounsaturated fatty acids, which, unlike to saturated fatty acids, reduce the “bad” cholesterol.

Olive oil stimulates the pancreatic lipase and bile secretion. A copious meal will be assimilates better by the body if prepared with olive oil. Olive oil is very recommended to people that are subjects of ulcers and gallstones.

The advantage of this particular oil, in comparison with other vegetal oils, is that it’s the only one that is not refined, deodorized and decolored. Its the only one to contain phenolic compounds in good quantity.

It’s a terroir olive oil, handcrafted and organic. It has a very unique taste.

TERROIRS OF CHÂTEAU COUPE-ROSES

Château Coupe-Roses is a child of the Minervois, a land located to the northeast of Carcassonne and south of the Montagne Noire, whose foothills it occupies. Its climate forms a harmonious synthesis between Mediterranean sunshine and mountain harshness.

This influence of altitude is felt even more strongly in the Causse region, where the estate is located. It consists of small plots totaling 22 hectares, spread across arid, stony hillsides between 250 and 400 meters above sea level. The relatively large temperature variations result in slow ripening and higher acidity, which intensifies the aromas.

The soils alternate between solid limestone layers, which retain heat, and deeper clay layers that serve as reserves, capturing runoff water. These layers are rich in manganese, whose coloration gives the estate its name.

These intrinsic qualities of the terroir must be brought to light through know-how rooted in respect: each plot hosts the grape variety best suited to it; amendments, treatments, and soil work are kept to a minimum, while the deep rooting of the vines — a guarantee of quality grapes — is encouraged.

Terroir is a notion that cannot be understood through space alone. Of course, geology, soil, climate, and exposure are a very important part of the concept of terroir, but just as important is the influence of time. The wine we take a full cycle to produce is, in the end, nothing more than the influence of time upon matter. Thus, a wine born from a place must also be defined by the year in which it matured, from pruning to harvest. The wine here is a condensation of space and time, captured in a bottle, meant to transmit all that it has gathered from its terroir and from the time we spent perfecting it. In this sense, it is the quintessence — the subtle born from the coarse.

Our wines are the fruit of this complex alchemy, of the ongoing dialogue between nature and the hand of man.

Stony Terroirs

(300 to 400m altitude)

The main representative of the so-called stony terroir on our land is the Causse area. It was planted a few years ago on land once covered by garrigue, but which had previously been planted with vines, as evidenced by the shoots of Rupestris du Lot still found here and there.

Historical research has shown that these areas have not been planted with vines since the 1950s. It is not surprising that these plots were abandoned for so long, given the difficulty of working these soils for planting. Everything here is mineral. Yet beneath the thick layer of stones — which at first glance seems unfit for planting — lies a black clay rich in organic matter and with a strong earthy smell. This clay serves as a water reserve, with an organic matter content exceeding 6%. The light summer rains easily seep through the limestone fragments and saturate these clays. Their evaporation is slowed by the stony surface layer, which acts as a natural mulch. Altogether, it provides a terroir remarkably resistant to drought.

It is on this small island of vines that we chose to plant our old endemic grape varieties. Over 4.8 hectares, we have planted Ribayrenc, Aramon, Piquepoul, Cinsault, and the more southern varieties such as Grenache Noir and Gris. The whole is divided into seven plots, each interplanted with a multitude of other varieties, some of them quite rare, such as Brun Fourca, Marocain Noir, or Œillade. A single cuvée is produced, combining all the plots of this area in proportions corresponding to the surface occupied by each grape variety. Thus, while each plot is made up of a wide diversity of grapes (up to 25), the cuvée itself is composed of the diversity of plots from this site, offering through syncretism the most faithful possible representation of this terroir.

Clay-Limestone Terroirs

(300 to 400m altitude)

The Languedoc branch of our family were partly tile makers between the 17th and 19th centuries.

The kilns were located on the current site of the winery. Toponymy tells us that this place was called “fabrique de Coupe-Rose,” without the plural “s” at the time. The term referred to pure clay rich in manganese, which produced beautiful tiles that sold for a bit more than others — quality, already!

Thus, little by little, the Pons family was able to buy back houses, vineyards, sheepfolds, and the cellar from Baron Treilh de Pardailhan.

Château Coupe-Roses is made up of an archipelago of plots. The clays there are varied, each requiring a specific approach.

The Babio plots are the most clayey of all. The reddish-violet streaks, strongly accentuated after our rare rains, attest to the abundance of manganese ions — a hallmark of the greatest white Burgundies. The resemblance ends there!

The internal surfaces of these clays are moderately low. White wines thrive here, offering finely chiseled aromatic and structural expressions, marked by freshness and precision.

On this site, three plots are planted. Grenache Blanc is blended in the “Champ du Roy.” The Viognier yields, in very small quantities, a tiny pure-varietal cuvée — sober and delicious — sold under the “Vin de France” designation.

A third plot is planted with Roussanne and a little Marsanne. It sometimes gives us late harvests vinified as old “Rancio” wines, following our peasant tradition. But most often, we blend it with the high-altitude schist-grown Roussanne for our cuvée “Schiste.”

Other, less pure clays accumulate as colluvium behind the large stone walls, such as along the “Chemin des Crozes” (1). The red Carignans find there a pleasant balance, gaining amplitude when blended with Grenache Noir.

We also have clays that migrate with each rainfall from the abandoned slopes on the southern sides of Babio, covering large stones. On these chaotic terrains, we have planted olive trees. A bit lower down, in the bed of the Cesse River (2), the clays mix with the sands and gravels deposited by floods.

Everywhere, clay is an agronomic challenge. The revival of microbial life and the growing understanding of the virtues of specifically prepared organic matter hold the promise of new oenological achievements.

(1): A name in Occitan designating crevices in rocks and cliffs (see Crozes-Hermitage).

(2): A wide river with a Mediterranean flow regime.

Schist Terroirs

(400m altitude)

Vineyards planted on schist always produce very distinctive and remarkable wines. Some of them have long enjoyed international recognition (Collioure, Banyuls, Faugères, etc.). It is likely that great schist terroirs still lie dormant under wastelands that history has not yet given a chance to flourish.

The schists that make up our Roussanne plot are of Precambrian origin (the first and longest period on the geological time scale). The soil of this plot thus comes directly from the weathering of some of the oldest formations on Earth.

These soils are extremely poor, and the establishment of the root system is very slow due to the horizontal layering of the schist. In the photographed plot, the proportion of fine earth is very low, which prevents good water retention. The vine’s vegetative expression reflects this extreme water stress, which Roussanne does not tolerate well. Regular additions of organic matter ensure rich microbial life, fostering the very slow process of rooting. All these factors lead to very low yields (15 hL/ha) and highlight original expressions marked by vegetal notes (notably heather) and empyreumatic tones (such as rolling tobacco).

Welcome to Château Coupe-Roses

Château Coupe-Roses is located in the village of La Caunette (Hérault), within the Minervois appellation, at the first foothills of the Montagne Noire. Our vines thrive on vast clay-limestone plateaus. Between 250 and 400 meters above sea level, in a climate that favors the preservation of aromas and acidity, we cultivate our vineyards using biodynamic agriculture.

The quality of the wine begins in the vineyard. From this principle arise our cultivation practices: working the soil is essential, as it allows the vine to take lasting root in its environment. The biodynamic treatment of the vine ensures the preservation of an ecosystem. All these elements contribute to producing a unique raw material, born from our terroir, which can then express itself through our winemaking — carried out as naturally as possible.

We use no additives, except for one to two grams of SO2 at bottling on certain cuvées. We are committed to ensuring that our natural wines are free of flaws, in order to preserve above all the expression of the terroir we seek. On these limestone plateaus, we work particularly on mouthfeel and texture rather than on aromatic intensity or a simple expression of fruit. This involves specific winemaking techniques, some using whole clusters, all fermented at low temperature, and generally with short macerations of about a week. For us, it is important to preserve the energy of the wine, racking it while it is still warm and cloudy rather than cold and clear.

For several years, we have been striving to limit as much as possible the effects of climate change on our vines. This involves deep reflection on our viticultural techniques, starting with plant material. For many years, all our new plantings have been “complanted,” meaning we mix grape varieties randomly within the same plot, so that the blending happens in the vineyard rather than in the cellar. This allows us to highlight the soil rather than the grape variety’s expression. We now prefer to replant the indigenous grape varieties that, in our trials, have proven to be more resistant to drought than others. We have planted Aramon, Ribayrenc, Piquepoul Noir, and Clairette Rose, which are themselves interplanted with a multitude of other varieties (Brun Fourca, Marocain Noir, Terret, Alicante, etc.). The rootstocks are adapted to the local climate — 110R, Rupestris du Lot, 1103 Paulsen, for example. We now favor planting low-trained goblet vines (about 30 cm above the ground).

The soil is hardly worked at all; only one or two superficial hoeings are done at the end of spring and beginning of summer. We avoid trimming to allow the vine to complete its vegetative cycle instead of forcing it to produce secondary shoots. Treatments are based on sulfur and copper, essential oils, herbal teas, fermented extracts, and plant purins. We apply no fertilizers, even organic ones, because we prefer to nourish the soil rather than the plant. To do so, we occasionally spread small amounts of manure mixed with wood chips, in light doses to avoid nitrogen deficiencies. All this helps promote low pH levels in the wines and makes our additive-free winemaking easier.

We place great importance on the aesthetics of the vineyard. As farmers, we shape the land; we inherit this landscape and are partly responsible for it. Our father used to say that a beautiful vineyard makes good wines. It is this philosophy that guides us when creating new plots or maintaining existing ones. We carefully consider the surroundings — the dry-stone walls, hedgerows, tree plantings, and plot sizes — so that our vines fit harmoniously into the landscape mosaic that defines our terroir, between forests, garrigue, and limestone cliffs.

We invite you to discover our sensorial poetry universe. It belongs to you to come and share this universe with us.

TEAM