“Such a wild natural place with great force and beauty and with land of exceptional potential”
When Eric de Rothschild visited Aussières in 1999 he was immediately charmed by this place of untamed beauty, with amazing soul and history. The 170 hectares at the centre of the estate had been used to grow grapes for the better part of the last 2000 years. Over the past 20 years, tremendous work and investments have been engaged in both the vineyard and the winery, and Aussières is now recognized as one of the spearheads of Languedoc's renewal.
The vintage
The relatively mild winter in 2020 led to an early bud break and increased the threat of fungal diseases. A warm, relatively wet summer, with a hot, dry late summer period, without scorching high temperatures, allowed the grapes to reach their optimal aromatic potential slowly, while maintaining a sufficient level of acidity.
As the growth cycle progressed, the vines lost some of their earliness and the grapes were harvested about ten days earlier than the previous vintage.
As the growth cycle progressed, the vines lost some of their earliness and the grapes were harvested about ten days earlier than the previous vintage.
Varietals
Syrah : 38%
Grenache noir : 34%
Carignan : 28%
Grenache noir : 34%
Carignan : 28%
Tasting notes
A beautiful concentration of fruit and aromas, Altan d'Aussières is a generous, full-bodied wine that offers a complex palette of flavours from deep within the identity of our terroir, with scents of the garrigue (broom, rock rose), and aromatic herbs (thyme, sage, juniper and rosemary). The batches produced by carbonic maceration give the blend a creamy, velvety and yet firm structure, with an aromatic palette of fresh, very ripe fruit (crushed berries, strawberries). This complex mosaic is easily identifiable, constituting the very specific Corbières identity marker that we wanted to bring out with the techniques used in Altan’s production. Altan d'Aussières thus offers a harmonious expression from the moment it is opened and does not need further bottle ageing.