Eric Texier - Chat Fou Côtes du Rhône Rouge 2022 (1L)

Eric Texier started his wine journey 20 years ago with no background or family in wine. Step by step, he has created a 12-hectare estate today with two very distinct terroirs in the northern Rhône valley: Brézème in the Drôme (left bank of the Rhône), and the Ouvèze valley in the Ardèche (right bank). These areas have long been recognized on wine maps of the Rhône. However, due to their small size and geographic isolation, they are almost forgotten when talking about the region.

Brézème is a limestone hillside facing south, the last ridge of the Vercors at the mouth of the Drôme river. The Ouvèze valley, on the Ardèche side, marks the geological separation between the Massif Central and the Cévennes. The vineyard, facing south, is a granitic flank with a mixture of schist and gneiss on its surface and islands of limestone.

Eric Texier have been working in organic agriculture since the beginning and their farming methods are directed towards agro-ecology (cover-crops, no plowing, manual work, etc.). On both sides of the Rhône, the vines are between 30 and 90 years old, and new plantings are slowly coming into production for the white grape varieties, Roussanne and Clairette.

Their winemaking style is traditional and very minimalist: native yeasts, whole bunch maceration, no sulfur on the grapes or on the must, aging in concrete tanks or in foudres for 10 to 48 months depending on the cuvées, and no filtration or fining. The use of sulfites at bottling is possible without being systematic, always at a minimum and depending on the cuvée, the vintage and the terroir. Approximately 20% of the wines can be bottled without sulfites (without it being a matter of principle).