Provence — Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence
(Text by Pascaline Lepeltier, MOF)
Pierre is located, between Aix and Artigues, climbing up to 450 meters in elevation. Cooler, higher, and protected from the Mistral, this area usually harvests two weeks after the others. It allows Pierre to produce wines with remarkable freshness and ample acidity provided by the daily diurnal shift (35-40°C degrees in the afternoon in August, but only 12°C at night!). The winters are also cold with the risk of frost running pretty high. Most of the AOC is located on the hillsides of small calcareous mountains created from the Alps then the Pyrenees erection, but their bedrock is older: they were formed at the bottom of lakes or seas in the Cretaceous age and contain traces of veins of multicolored clay. We know how this kind of limestone can produce very elegant wines.
The story of La Réaltière starts with Pierre’s father, Jean-Louis, an agronomist who travelled the world with his family, working in the Pacific islands of Melanesia and Caledonia. In 1994, seeking to fulfill his dream of becoming a vigneron before retiring, he bought 8 ha of vines and 22 ha of oak trees at the foothills of the Vautubière Mountain.
Unfortunately he tragically passed away in 2001.
Pierre who grew up fascinated by the ocean, quit his job in aquaculture and without knowing anything about winemaking decided to take over the domain and keep it in the family. Following in his father's footsteps of organic farming, Pierre learned little by little, listening to like-minded vignerons.
In 2010 Pierre realizing how biodynamic farming could impact its balance, he converted the whole estate. His early observations of the Melanesian people’s relationship to nature greatly informed his approach to farming. Pierre integrates his belief in energies, resonances, and balance in his work in the vineyard. He is very careful with pruning as the vine is a perennial plant carrying her history in her wood. Considering himself a novice, he follows the lunar calendar and the preparation instructions to the letter, making one exception for the powerful silica (501). There is so much white light (no clouds and the white limestone) that this preparation applied at the wrong moment can badly damage the vines. He uses a lot of tisanes and plants in an homeopathic way to allow the plants to receive information and build their own immunity.
Today, the domaine is composed of 13 ha of vines, 8.5 ha near the cellar, and 3.5 ha a couple of miles away where Pierre cares for hundred-year old Carignan and Ugni Blanc vines. 24 plots in total are surrounded by oaks, pines, cherry and almond trees in preserved ecosystems. There are some slight variations of terroir, but the base is limestone and red clay with veins of saffres (sandy sedimentary soil). From the original vines bought by his father, he had to replant quite a lot, especially old indigenous varieties - he now farms Clairette Blanche et Rose, Sémillon, Ugni Blanc, Araignan (also known as Picardan in the Rhône or Oeillade Blanche in the Languedoc), Macabeu, Bourboulenc, Carignan Blanc (a favorite of mine), Carignan Rouge, Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, all vinified in 11 different cuvées!
White wines are very important for Pierre, and for a good reason - he has the terroir and the grapes to produce beautiful expressions! In the cellar it is very simple. Grapes are hand-harvested, sorted in the vineyard, pressed whole-cluster or not depending on the variety, all fermentations are spontaneous, sulfur dioxide is barely used (around 30ppm max with some cuvées seeing only 10ppm). A lot of different vessels are used - cement, demi-muid, jarres, etc. All of the wines are unfiltered.
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