Mas Amiel

Anecdotes from the estate: Olivier Decelle discovered Mas Amiel thanks to Jacques Boissenot, a renowned Médoc oenologist. He fell under the spell of its wild nature and rugged landscapes. In 1999, he left his position as president of Picard to dedicate himself fully to the estate. The estate's history: The story of Mas Amiel begins like a film: in 1816, around a gaming table, the Bishop of Perpignan faced off against a civil engineer, Raymond Etienne Amiel. The clergyman, perhaps short of cash, ended up betting one of his properties, then called Domaine des Goudous. Luck was not on his side: his estate changed hands and went to the engineer. At the end of the 19th century, phylloxera arrived in France and decimated the majority of the French vineyards. Camille Gouzy, a wine merchant from Millas, found the solution by replanting American vines resistant to phylloxera. He partnered with the Amiel family and the winemakers of the Agly Valley, offering to save their vineyards. He then built a cellar on Mas Amiel with around twenty large casks, representing a total capacity of 7,000 hectoliters. This marked a major expansion for Mas Amiel, making it a benchmark in the Roussillon region. The estate was later taken over by the Dupuy family, who developed and produced a naturally sweet wine under the Mas Amiel label. The family continued this expansion strategy until 1997, the year of the death of the last son, Charles Dupuy. When Olivier Decelle discovered Mas Amiel one October day in 1999, during a strong tramontane wind, it was love at first sight. He took root in the estate, learning the basics of the trade on the job and producing dry Côtes du Roussillon Villages wines, both red and white—a first for Maury. Since then, he has set a precedent, as the Maury Sec AOC was created in 2011 by the INAO (National Institute of Origin and Quality). In 2011, a new appellation finally emerged to identify and promote dry wines, as opposed to sweet wines, in the Maury region. The estate is a source of pride for this illustrious estate, which has held Biodyvin Biodynamic certification since 2017 (the 2018 vintage can be claimed as being in conversion, while the 2019 vintage is 100% certified Biodynamic). At the gateway to Cathar country, Mas Amiel is protected by the ancient citadel of Quéribus, to the north by the Corbières hills, and to the south by the foothills of the Pyrenees. Its climate is unique in France: 260 days of sunshine per year and only 370 mm of rain. MAS AMIEL has built a worldwide reputation with its fortified sweet wines. Today, its single-vineyard and blended wines in the Maury Sec and Côtes du Roussillon appellations are distinguished by the most discerning tasters. Spanning 170 hectares, including 130 historic heritage parcels, MAS AMIEL boasts a rich diversity of terroirs, landscapes, and 130 individual plots. Each plot of approximately 2 hectares possesses its own unique identity (exposure, altitude, etc.), soil type (schist, calcareous schist, gneiss, etc.), and specific grape varieties (Carignan, Grenache, Lladoner Pelut).