Les Vignobles de Constance et du Terrassous Hors d'Age 6yr NV (750ml)

 

A legend, a terroir and men

 

An ancestral know how, men’s souls

 

An art, a passion

 

“At Terassous, you do not need to be a wine expert.  Our goal is simply to share with you genuine wines, made by passionate producers on an exceptional terroir.”

 

Les “Aspres”, name of our territory and newly recognized Appellation, is a land of garrigues, vineyards and cork-oaks woods.  A piece of Catalogne, dominated by the Canigou Mountain between Spain and the Mediterranean.  Here, the climate is arid, the soils are poor and men are hard workers.

 

Youthfull, matured and powerful or sweet wines, Terrassous offers you a great palette of colours and styles.

 

Welcome in Terrassous’ universe.

 

Les Vignobles de Constance et du Terrassous

Hors d'Age 6yr

 

Type of wine:  Natural sweet wine (Fortified)

 

Appellation:  Rivesaltes

 

Varietal:  Des hors d'âge à découvrir - 100% grenache blanc

 

Alc % Vol:  17.5%

 

Local:  Stony, shale alluvial deposits from the quaternary

 

Vinification:  Settling of the juice before fermentation.  Pressed and then fermented under controlled temperatures (below 20°).  Then the fermentation is stopped by the addition of pure wine alcohol (mutage).

 

Breeding:  Aged in oak barrels in our barrel cellar. Bottling March 2013.

 

Tasting Note:  Its golden colour perfectly incarnates the sweet honey notes of this Rivesaltes with its aromas of yellow flowers, very ripe figs and lovely fresh finish.

 

Wine pairings:  Enjoy as an aperitif, with blue cheeses such as Roquefort, orange cream fritters, Asian cuisine, chocolate cake or as an after dinner drink.

 

Temperature:  Serve chilled at around 12° to 14° C.

 

Preservation:  You may appreciate this grand Rivesaltes straight away, but note that these wines are impervious to time.

 

 

Les Vignobles de Constance

 

Terrats, land of legend

 

A long time ago, in the days when Barcelona was not more than a patch of land, a city known as Mirmanda existed on the banks of the Canterane River.  Mirmanda was known as a house of fearies (“les Encantades”) before being suddenly swept away by a flood rising from the Mediterranean.  Invisible to ordinary mortals, the city had only been seen by a few shepherds appreciated by the fairies.  Some of them then became wealthy.  No-one knows the origin of this legend which illustrates the fertile Catalan imagination.

 

The oldest recorded mention of the village of Terrats, known as “Terrenum”, goes back to July 30th 844.  On that day, Argila, son of the count of Barcelona sold two estates to his son Bèra.  One was called Furchas (today the village of Fourques) and the other was Terrenum.  A century later, in 960, the name was transformed into Terradas, and shortly afterwards was finally known as Terrats.

 

The “Terrassous” are the inhabitants of Terrats.  It’s under this name that the Vinegrowers of the villages of Thuir, Fourques and Terrats have chosen to gather.  Since 1932, our vignerons work hard on these arid hillsides.  They are today 70 growers cultivating 800 hectares of land and their will and passion remain fiercely attached to this piece of land.

 

Terroir

 

On these stony and shale hillsides at 150 to 250 meters altitude, we have since 1932, grown typical Mediterranean varieties:  Grenache (Black, grey and white), Syrah, Mourvèdre, Carignan, Macabeu, Muscat small berries and Muscat d’Alexandrie.

 

The sunshine hours, the altitude, the proximity of the sea and the foothills of the Canigou Mountain which culminates at 2800 meters, all combine to create an incomparable climate; this is the region known as the “Aspres”.

 

In respect for this exceptional terroir, our growers practice sustainable viticulture to minimize their impact on the environment and contribute to the protection of man and nature.

 

Our vineyard comity, composed of technicians and vine growers, select vineyard parcels and then establish specifications for each of them with the objective of producing the best possible grapes adapted to each wine style.

 

This conscientious and heartfelt work is rewarded by regular accolades in some of the most prestigious wine competitions: the Paris Agriculture show, Brussels’ ConcoursMondial, Hachette Wine Guide.

 

Wines made with passion

 

Today 70 vine growers cultivate 800 hectares of land using a combination of ancestral know-how, modern vineyard management and winemaking.  With over 90% of our vines classified as Appellation d’Origine Protégée (protected origin), we produce around 3000000 liters annually (equivalent to 4 million bottles).

 

The average yields are lower than 4000 liters per hectares.

 

Our wines have a distinctive richness of aromas and finesse of their tannins.  Either fruity or aged in barrels, you will enjoy their great style diversity with all kinds of food.