Languedoc-Roussillon, France: Ermitage du Pic Saint Loup

In 1951, in the era of VDQS (the old "superior quality wine" designation) and high yields, l’Ermitage was a private estate. More inclined to pass his time with his sheep that produced milk for Roquefort cheese, the grandfather opted to join the cooperative system, and it was at his instigation that the cooperative winery of the village was created in that year. It was his son-in-law, also a member of the cooperative, who having inherited the land, decided to plant new grape varieties to achieve the quality that he also believed in. At l’Ermitage du Pic Saint Loup, the wine’s balance results from a subtle marriage of noble grape varieties and different types of terrain: limestone clay, red earth, gravel and pebbles. Particular care is paid to the culture of the vines, which are grown using entirely biodynamic methods. No artificial yeasts are used, no acidification, just pumping over and natural cold settling. The estate prides itself on its mastery of the whole process from beginning to end, from the vine to the bottling: here we grow, we harvest, we make the wine, we then age and bottle it on the estate.