Tasting Notes
Papillon is a delicious and atypical wine for the region. It is made from the traditional Mediterranean varieties Macabeu and Grenache Gris, which are often used for fortified production, but here, they produce a heady and aromatic dry table wine. There is a little Muscat for added aroma. It smells of the salty sea, and honey melon, with a slight oxydatif touch adding complexity. It has an unctuous oily texture, but enough acidity and freshness to make it a great food wine. It opens the apetite like a butterfly. Importer Note.
Jacques de Chancel created his dream Domaine in 2001, and started immediately with organic viticulture. Ausseil means 'Bird' in Occitan, and Jacques pays hommage to birds and wildlife in each of his wines. There is indeed a sort of lightness and flightiness in his wines, which helps to counteract the intensity which comes from very low yielding (less than 20hl/ha) old vines (some over 100 years old).
The Domaine holds about 10 ha in the village of Latour de France (in the hills to the north west of Perpignan). Jacques likes to work with micro-vinifications, isolating and nurturing different vineyards with different varieties in different micro-climates and soil structures, in order to study their impact on the resulting wines. He then allows himself flexibility in winemaking, with very short to very long macerations, long ageing in tanks and/or old oak barrels. There are a lot of factors to work with! Winemaking is low-intervention, all by gravity, use of a basket press, classic macerations for the reds, a little plunging of the cap, and minimal SO2 prior to bottling. - Importer Note
| Product Type | Wine White Other Varietals & Blends |
| Volume | 750ml |
| Country | France |
| Region | Rousillon |
| Winemaking Practices | Natural |
| Vineyard Practices | Organic/Biodynamic |