Winemakers Stephanie & Olivier Ramé, a husband and wife team, are the third generation of their family to run the show at Maison Ventenac. Their vineyards are in Cabardès, the only Languedoc appellation that allows both Atlantic and Mediterranean grape varieties, so offering a unique exploration of flavours. Their specific location around the village of Ventenac-Cabardès is famed for its limestone, chalky soils, which they say gives their wines their saline & fresh characters. The winemaking philosophy is to allow their unique terroir to shine through in the wines, presenting them as naturally as possible and raising in tuns, terra cotta urns and concrete vats to enhance their purity. They are also experimenting with winemaking without sulfites but deploying non-saccharomyces yeast to avoid spoilage from the likes of brettanomyces.
One day, the young winemaker accidentally mixed together the juice of two different grapes, creating, by chance, a beautiful and unique new wine. This improbable blend of Chenin and Colombard has since become a classic. Rumor has it that the vintner sometimes add a splash of Gros Manseng in order to give it a bit more bite and bring out citrus notes. “The story continues in your glass and nobody knows how it will end. Take a sip and write the next chapter…” Fruity wine with primary aromas of grapefruit and lemon. A focused wine, well balanced and fresh.
25% CHENIN BLANC, 15% GROS MANSENG, 60% COLOMBARD