This year we revisited our Caraguilhes past, when the estate was run with the help of 26 horses who lived on site with the staff. We welcomed Vaya, a nine-year-old mare and her owner Gaelle, to work a plot of Carignan named St Jean, essential for the production of Solus and L’Echappée Belle. The old Carignan vines need to be treated with the utmost care, and Vaya’s combination of strength and finesse produces the meticulous approach required to make the best Boutenac wines. We are looking forward to repeating the experience next year.
After three years without sheep at Caraguilhes, our shepherd Jerome brought them back to the domaine this year. The flock flourished in our vineyards and our 500 hectares of garrigue. The symbiosis is perfect: the sheep graze among the vines in the winter, and add to the biodiversity of the land with the insects and birds their presence encourages. According to Jerome, the land is perfect for his sheep between October and June, and in the summer months he takes them up to the mountains to cool off. We even had the chance to taste the lamb produced by his hard work and really enjoyed the marriage between the meat flavours and our wines.