DOMAINE LA CROIX CHAPTAL
L o c a t i o n
The wine estate is located in a hamlet called Cambous, on the western part of the rural district of Saint André de Sangonis, 30 km North-West of Montpellier.
The location is very popular with tourists since on the Eastern side it is circumscribed by the river Lergue flowing out of Lake Salagou, and on the Western side it opens onto the middle valley of the river Hérault and its prestigious abbeys and natural caves.
W i n e E s t a t e
Domaine la Croix Chaptal spreads over 25 ha (60 acres) of vineyards and 10 ha (25 acres) of woods, with an age-old stone cellar.
On the pediment is engraved the Languedoc cross enhanced by the shape of a heart at its bottom. Today, the estate draws its name from this engraving.
Charles Pacaud
V i n e y a r d
Pebbles cover most of the surface of the best plots. The poor clay and limestone soils are deep enough to drain and store heat and moisture. Syrah thrives mainly on clayey soil whereas Clairette du Languedoc, Grenache and old Carignan express their full potential on warmer soils.
The vineyard is cultivated with respect for the environment in mind: integrated pest management with natural grass, hand harvest, etc
W i n e m a k i n g
The owners of Domaine la Croix Chaptal have pursued careers in wine-growing and wine-making companies well-known for their innovative and modernizing spirit. However, they do not hesitate to revive traditional methods when the latter can bring about qualitative improvements.
Long macerations of grapes carefully selected by the pickers and at the cellar, natural decantation during the cold winter season and second fermentation when spring comes, traditional ageing in oak barrels along with regular “ouillages”.
H i s t o r y
Witiza, also known as St Benoit d’Aniane, gave the Benedictines a new impulse leading to the foundation of Gellone abbey in 804 in the medieval village of Saint Guilhem le Désert. It owned four small feudal estates at Cambous that were planted with vineyards and olive groves from the Xth century through the impetus given by a monk named Déodat de Séverat.
In the XVIIIth century, Cassini publishes the first comprehensive cartography of France. It features the most significant estates of that time and the Cambous seigneury is mentioned. Later on, the first land register of 1826 mentions a Cambous seigneury planted with vines, woods and olive groves. It was larger than the current estate and owned by André Edouard Auguy de Vitry, a lawyer from Gignac.
The estate was blessed in 1875 against phylloxera, as the engravings of olive and boxwood branches on the cellar indicate. This did not prove a successful protection!
When the current owners took over the estate from the descendants of Auguy de Vitry, the most outlaying plots of land had already been sold. The restructured vineyard and the restored original cellar has enabled Domaine la Croix Chaptal to regain its former prestige.
LES SIGILEES
AOC Côteaux du Languedoc, rosé
16 % Grenache Gris / 49 % Syrah / 45 % Mourvèdre
LES SIGILEES
AOC Côteaux du Languedoc, white
45 %Clairette rose / 45 % Roussanne / 10 %Grenache Gris
LES SIGILEES
AOC Côteaux du Languedoc, red
70 % Grenache / 15 %Syrah / 15 %Carignan / 10 %Mourvèdre
LE SECRET DE GELONNEAOC Côteaux du Languedoc, Terasses du Larzac, red
Grenache / Carignan / Syrah Y
Guide des vins DVE 90/100
CUVEE CHARLES
AOC Côteaux du Languedoc,
Terasses du Larzac, red
36 % Syrah / 25% Grenache / 20% Carignan / 19% Mourvèdre
CLAIRETTEAOC Clairette du Languedoc, white
100 % Clairette Blanche
LES TERASSES
AOC Côteaux du Languedoc,
Terasses du Larzac, red
34% Syrah / 34% Grenache Noir / 32% Carignan
LA GRIVE & L’ORTOLAN
AOC Côteaux du Languedoc,
Terasses du Larzac, red
Grenache / Carignan / Syrah
WITIZA
AOC Côteaux du Languedoc,
Terasses du Larzac, red
36% Mourvèdre / 36% Syrah /16% Grenache / 9% Carignan
RANCIO
100 % Clairette du Languedoc, Natural sweet white
Botrytised