Mas Janeil

(21 ratings)

“Small by the size big by the wine”

The Mas Janeil estate straddles a geological fault and contains a multitude of different soils and subsoils. Some plots in the granite and limestone scree of the fallow...

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(66) Pyrénées-Orientales

On the estate, we apply a semi-organic farming method called Biodynamics. Fertilizers are organic (compost) and we cross-plough to avoid grass (no herbicides). Yields are so low that we cannot accept competition from weeds, and the winegrower pushes for the development of hedges between each plot to block a little the wind (tramontane) which often sweeps us. But also to maintain the fauna and flora (especially the aromatic species, rosemary, thyme, laurel ...) that participate in the life of the vine. On the highest parcel of the estate, the wind is so strong that the vines have remained small as "Bonsaïs"! The vinification of the grapes from these parcels is done separately. This is the "Pas de la Mule" (so called because it was a mule's passage in the cliff to go to Cucugnan).

Our story

Initially a tenant for 10 years, François buys back the best plots of land of the estate when the previous owner retired. A total of 30 hectares, as well as 60 hectares of uncultivated moorland that keep our friends the wild boars! Mas Janeil is a whole! We also keep access to the estate's springs, which later allowed us to put irrigation in place on the driest plots. For a Bordeaux resident who is well used to high vine density and profitable yields, this was a shock. It was necessary for the winegrower to review several of his ways of thinking both in the vineyard and in the cellar. Fortunately, François has been working in other terroirs and comes to the estate with a very open mind, which is why he is building a brand new winery to be able to apply a personal working method, very much inspired by tradition of course, but also with things like cold maceration in whole bunches, which he is apparently the only user in this region.

François du MAS JANEIL

L'entrée du MAS JANEIL

Vue sur le MAS JANEIL

LE vignoble du MAS JANEIL

Vue du MAS JANEIL

Les vignes du MAS JANEIL

Les barriques du MAS JANEIL

Le chai du MAS JANEIL

Other little stories

Vines run in the family! For 4 generations, the Lurton family, still winegrowers, have developed a large number of original and revolutionary techniques for the vineyard and the cellar. François, for his part, has developed an original working technique that avoids all the defects inherent in wines that are not protected by sulphur. As a good Bordeaux wine grower, he knows how to make red wines, but born in the Entre-deux-Mers region, a land of white wines, he is very attracted to white grape varieties. François also thinks that Roussillon white wines are even more original than the reds. According to him, they have their own expression which differentiates them from the rest of the world and makes them unique wines, so the winegrower plants several plots of white (white and grey grenache, macabeu ...). The volumes are small but the wines are remarkable. Mas Janeil vinifies them in 1/2 muy and in eggs. Here, we love these containers that have been worked for more than 10 years in other vineyards. They give a lot of creaminess to the wine and really allow the origin and the terroir to show through, and I think "Exigence" would be the key word. Today excellence leaves no room for chance. You have to be natural, neat and caring. Nature will only express itself if it is given the means to do so.