Le Casot des Mailloles

France, Roussillon

The Story

A casot is a stone shelter, many of which can be found around the exposed region of Banyuls. It’s in these casots that vineyard workers take refuge from the heat, wind and rain – the same elements that work so well for the wines produced here.

Le Casot De Mailloles is one of the smallest vineyards in Banyuls, and was made famous by Alain Castex and Ghislaine Magnier, who first bought the four-hectare plot in the 1990s, producing the wine in an old Citroen garage. The honour has now been passed on by them to Jordi Perez, with 2015 being the first vintage he produced himself.

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The People

Jordi

Jordi Perez, a young Catalonian, left his job at the town hall of Auch to pursue a degree in viticulture and oenology at Blanquefort in 2010. Over the following five years he would partake in wide diversity of internships: Grand Crus of Bordeaux such as Beychevelle, then large cooperatives in Saint-Chinian, Fitou, and also small estates like Perreou in Côtes de Gascogne...

The Place

France, Roussillon

The terrain here, between the Mediterranean and the Pyrenees, is steep, with walled terraces. This means a lot of the work needs to be done manually, which can be time-consuming, but avoids the sometimes destructive force of farming machinery. The old black schist stone walls are under constant repair, as they are vital to the functioning of the vineyard, preventing the soils from being washed away by rain. The old vines grow in these schist soils, strictly in compliance with organic principles, meaning minimal intervention that might harm the vine.

Because of the small operation and the low yields, only several thousand bottles are produced by Le Casot De Mailloles each year, so this great selection of wines is always in hot demand.

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