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High-Quality Wines - Wines with a Soul
The note "wine made from ecologically grown grapes" is not
necessarily a guarantee of a particularly good quality. Martin and Jean-Pierre Margan were aware of this when in spite of their limited financial resources they decided 30 years ago to revive the winery which had not been farmed by Martine's parents for 20 years. At that time, winegrowing was not a very profitable activity in this region, since the Luberon wines didn't have a very good reputation, and organic winegrowing was practiced by very few people at that time. Thus a great deal of effort was necessary in order to make this project a success.
However Jean-Pierre, who is an enologist, was able to rely on his own positive assessment of the soil in the vineyards, which had not been polluted with chemicals. The soil as well as the location provided the outstanding prerequisites for ecological winegrowing.
Martine and Jean-Pierre's first meeting was the stuff of which romantic films are made - Jean-Pierre was the guide on a hike in the mountains, and Martine was one of the hikers. After their wedding, they made plans, calculated expenses, and worked hard. At the beginning, Jean-Pierre sold insurance in the mornings, Martine worked as a nurse, and from the afternoon on until late in the evening they worked in their vineyards. Of the original 30 hectares of winegrowing area, almost all of which were on low vineyard terraces called "restanques", only 2 hectares contained vines. They are surrounded by bushes, and pine trees tower above them, not only protecting the vines from the cold mistral but also giving birds and insects a habitat, thus making sure that pests do not get out of hand.
When we visited the Château La Canorgue for the first time in the mid-1980s, the first thing that impressed us was a large wrought iron gate, which prevented us from entering the courtyard of the old manor, built on the foundations of a Roman villa. Huge sycamores, which have been in the courtyard for 400 years, provide shade close to a spring-fed pond built by the Romans 2000 years ago and channeled here underground. Some years later, we had the pleasure of enjoying the view of the vineyard terraces, which are designed in the shape of an amphitheater and which slope up in the direction of Bonnieux, from the south side of the house during an unforgettable Provencal dinner.
Today, 20 years later, the Château La Canorgue still irradiates the pristine aura of days gone by. However, anyone who knows the estate as it used to be will notice the enormous changes. The makeshift wine cellar was relocated to a remodeled annex and modernized. The salesrooms, the office and storage room for the bottles have also been relocated to a remodeled, modernized annex. Nathalie Margan, who is being increasingly integrated into the management of the entire operation and who will be in charge of it in the future, now also lives in a house belonging to the Château. Martine and Jean-Pierre only live here in the summer, and in the winter they prefer to live in a heated apartment nearby, since winters in the Provence can be quite cold.
Today, the vineyards encompass an area of approximately 30 hectares. They are cultivated according to organic farming methods and to the extent that this is possible according to biodynamic agricultural methods, and the care they receive is exemplary. It goes without saying that no artificial fertilizers or synthetic chemical pesticides are used. Special care is given to the vineyard soil. This is porous, well-aerated, contains many roots and thus is able to absorb moisture. Anyone who picks up some of the soil and smells it will notice the spicy aroma of fresh mushrooms. The soil is fertilized with composted horse and sheep manure.
Combined with a limited harvest - per hectare only 30 - 35 hl, the careful work done thinning out the vines by hand in summer, in this case also removing grapes which are not growing well, a manual harvest at the right time, as well as skillful winemaking, this guarantees wines whose quality has been consistently high for many decades.Margan Nathalie Margan und Uschi
Erich Hartl
hartl@weinpur.de
www.organicwinepure.com
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