THE VINYARD

THE PLACE

The winery is settled in Maury, Pyrénées-Orientales. This wine village is located 40 kms from the Mediterranean Sea and 70 kms from the Spanish border.While a few vines grow in Maury (for our sweet wines), most of the vineyard is planted at a higher altitude in Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet, a small village in the upper Agly valley (Agly means "eagle" in Catalan).

TERROIR

Our terroir offers a surprising ecclecticism. Age of the vines, exposure, altitudes, soils… The plots are all different from one another, which is challenging, but enables a higher complexity of the wines. The soil is mainly composed of black schists. There are also a few clays and limestone, as well as granitic rocks.The vines are planted on slopes between 300 m and 500 m above sea level. They are surrounded on one side by the Pyrenees, and on the other by the Corbières. It shapes a natural corridor of wind in which the tramontana - the local wind - rushes. The wind blows there more than 300 days a year.On the edge of the vineyards, you can find thyme, rosemary, olive trees and almond trees.The altitude, the wind and the local flora make this high valley a land of contrasts, where southern vineyards can rhyme with freshness and delicacy.

THE PRODUCTION

Our terroir can be very hot and dry in summer. As a consequence, the vine produces fine wines, but in small quantities. The heat, which has increased in recent years, produces grapes rich in sugar and therefore in alcohol. The fresh terroir, the steady wind and the surrounding scrubland give the wines real freshness. Thus the wines are powerful but fresh, balanced and digestible, and remain easy to drink.

The production of Domaine de Vénus has been somewhat slowed down by the organic conversion in the past years. Now we produce nearly 30,000 bottles, including:

65% red wines, in AOC Côtes-du-Roussillon, Côtes-du-Roussillon-Villages and Côtes-Catalanes.
25% white wines, in AOC Côtes-du-Roussillon.
10% rosé wines, in AOC Côtes-du-Roussillon.

Since 2019, we have been providing organic amendments to nourish the vines in a natural way and thus enrich the soils; one of the objectives being to increase yields.