Domaine Pech Del Cel

The estate has existed since the end of the 19th century, initially with mixed farming, vines and cereals, under the hands of Marcellin, Léo and Claude. In 2011, it was my turn to invest in the estate in addition to my salaried job.

The estate's vines now cover 4 hectares. Initially, there was a parcel of 45-year-old Syrah for the reds and two parcels of Len de l'El and Sauvignon for the whites. Braucol and Duras have been added since 2015 to make my red wines. A further 1.20 hectares of native grape varieties were grafted in place, some of them in 2023 (Duras and Mauzac rose), with the work to be completed in 2024 (a technique handed down by my father and already used for Braucol and Duras). The transition to organic farming began in 2016, and the 2020 vintage was the first to be certified. Both in the cellar and in the vineyard, the Terres de Gaillac association's ethical charter is applied: organic cultivation, manual harvesting, indigenous yeasts and minimal inputs.
From 2012, the question of cultivation practices led me to rule out any chemical inputs in the vineyard. All the more so as old soil-working equipment, some of it from my great-grandfather and still effective, was available! The same idea didn't take hold in the cellar until later in 2013. Meeting other Terres de Gaillac winegrowers, reflecting on the pleasure of natural wine and the logic of working the vines, led me to start fermenting with indigenous yeasts, doing away with fining and reducing or eliminating sulphites.
Beyond these technical aspects, the important thing is to be able to [re]connect with the earth, to be able to express yourself.