Grès Vaillant, organic wines produced using horse-drawn methods in Limoux

Le Grès Vaillant is a 7-hectare vineyard nestled in the heart of the Upper Aude Valley and the Cathar Country, near Limoux, at the foot of the Pyrenees. It is cultivated organically and using horses by Aigline de Causans and Laurent Maffeïs, a couple of winegrowers.

Biodiversity and sustainable viticulture at Grès Vaillant

Set in an environment that promotes biodiversity, the 7 hectares of vineyards at Grès Vaillant are surrounded by woods, meadows and streams.

In organic farming, the vines are therefore treated with no synthetic weedkillers or pesticides. This creates a symbiotic relationship between plants, people and animals. The plots are surrounded by 70 hectares of woodland comprising a mix of white and green oaks and arbutus trees. There are also trees that grow alongside the vines, such as stone pines and almond trees. This promotes a high level of biodiversity which helps control vine pests, particularly thanks to the many birds and bats.

Work using animal power

At Grès Vaillan, Aigline and Laurent use three draught horses to assist with the work in the vineyard:

• Rustica, a Comtois mare
• Colette, her daughter, also a Comtois breed
• Carolus, a Breton draught horse.

This helps to minimise soil compaction and thus promotes soil health, whilst reducing dependence on oil. As a hardy breed, they live outdoors in the fields all year round, feeding on the grass from our meadows in the warmer months and hay from the hayfields in winter.

As well as being a pleasure to have around, they help out with farm work all year round:

• Winter pruning of vines
• spring weeding
• maintenance of the rows and between-row spaces in summer
• collecting the grape crates during the harvest
• etc

In addition, sheep graze in the vineyards during the winter.

A high-altitude clay-limestone terroir

Spread out at an altitude of around 300 metres, the vines benefit both from the Mediterranean sunshine and the cool air descending from the Pyrenees. These are two characteristic features of the terroir of the Upper Aude Valley, the highest vineyard in the Languedoc. The cool summer nights thus enhance the complexity of the grapes’ aromas. The vines are planted in clay-limestone soils on sandstone bedrock, which gives the Grès Vaillant estate its name.

Vinification using indigenous yeasts to preserve the wines’ distinctive character

Particular care is taken during the harvest to ensure healthy grapes with a reasonable potential alcohol content. This is done to impart freshness and liveliness to the wines. The grapes are harvested by hand into small crates to preserve their quality until they reach the winery. The wines ferment using the indigenous yeasts naturally present in the vineyards. This enhances the distinct character of each cuvée and the diversity of their aromas. The use of sulphur is kept to a minimum through impeccable cellar hygiene and constant monitoring of the wines. This enables us to produce bottles containing 50% fewer sulphites than the limit permitted in organic wine.

A few photos of the Grès Vaillant