France and Mario Dussurget

Originally from Paris and Toulouse, France and Mario spent nearly ten years on the other side of the world, in New Zealand and then in California, before choosing to return to France in 2023. Guided by their passion, the need for meaning and a long-term project, that of a lifetime, it is in the Languedoc that they have settled. They were instinctively and obviously seduced by a 28-hectare estate nestled in the heart of the Hérault, 30 minutes northwest of Montpellier, at the foot of the Larzac Plateau. A small vineyard of 3 hectares, a house, a cellar … and above all, a place conducive to dreams, creation, rooting.

Wine growing

The influence of Larzac.

The estate is located in the area of the Terrasses du Larzac, 30 minutes north-west of Montpellier. This terroir has the particularity of benefiting from a temperate Mediterranean climate thanks to the fresh Tramontane which arrives at the foot of the Larzac plateau where the Mas de Salente is located. In summer, the difference in temperatures between days and nights allows us to wait for real maturities without sacrificing freshness.

When they arrived, France and Mario Dussurget conducted nearly 60 soil tests to better understand the different types of soils that can generally be described as clay-limestone.

The rocks present on the domain are: 

• Glacial terraces, limestone mixed materials, sandstone, quartz, ludians, prophyrites, basaltic alterites
• Foundry clay marl/ yellow marl of Gignac
• Limestone with oncholites / sandstone / clays from Montpellier
• White limestone with lake planobers
• Organic, biodynamic and animal power

France and Mario work according to the principles of organic and biodynamic agriculture. By limiting the competition of the grass under the rows of vines by shoeing and dewatering with the help of their Percheron, Harribo.

The culmination of a year of work is an intense moment of concentration, doubt, joy and conviviality. Each plot of the Mas de Salente is harvested by hand, early in the morning, sometimes headlamp. The harvest is transported in a small vibrating bin to the cellar.

After harvesting, they sow plant cover with the aim of contributing to improving the structure of the soil and increasing organic matter. Tey practice soft pruning, disbudding and green harvesting if necessary.

Map of the plots at Mas de Salente

Wine making

France and Mario make above all wines that resemble them, wines that make you want to drink and share.

The first objective is to harvest grapes “al dente”. To do this, the cut is done early in the morning by hand, with a reception without trituration and by gravity. Then a vinification with little intervention, a gentle extraction, very little sulfur and finally an aging that respects the character of the fruit.

Once harvested, the grapes are sorted manually, destemmed or not according to grape varieties and plots, crushed then vatted gravitationally with small mobile cuvons. Fermentation in stainless steel tanks or amphora is carried out by indigenous yeasts. One to two pumping-over operations per day, then pressing with a small vertical press. Each plot is vinified and aged individually until the final blend.

The wines are aged for 20 months in clay amphora, in barrels and half-muids of 2 or more wines.

A few photos of Mas de Salente

(source : domaine du Mas de Salente)