Domaine les Patys

The winemaker of Domaine les Patys and his history
 

From man to earth

As a child, I read the great mythological stories Ulysses, Hercules and I loved traveling. When I was seventeen, I discovered the mountain and I have never left it.

The discovery of the mountains

I read with passion the stories of the great mountaineers Reinhold Messner, Maurice Herzog and the heroic acts of René Desmaison, Catherine Destivelle.

First the Alps, then at twenty I embarked on an adventure. It was the start of a life of travel that took me on foot, on camel and on horseback to the great mountain ranges of the Himalayas, the Atlas, the Andean Cordillera, the Sahara and of the Gobi Desert.

My night books are then by Wilfred Thesiger, Alexandra David-Néel, Isabelle Eberhardt and others.

Back to earth

The vineyard on the slopes of Mont-Ventoux is the result and a link with this adventure that I rediscovered with my rural and rural origins.

Live to the rhythm of nature

Share life with courageous and true people, work the vines with simplicity and patience, respecting the terroir and the environment.

I hope my wine tastes like this story. I invite you to discover them, they express the richness and the smell of our Provençal soil.

The winemaker Thierry Delasalles - from the land to the vineyard

Domaine Les Patys is a family winery founded in 2013 by Thierry Delasalles in Bédoin at the southern foot of Mont-Ventoux. It has been certified organic since 2018. Since the vines thrive on a plot of land called "Bas Patys", in Provencal "low pasture", the winery was named Domaine les Patys.

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Vineyard and terroir

The vineyard is located on an area of ​​twelve hectares, mainly in clay and limestone, and benefits from the Mediterranean climate, which is characterized by a hot and dry summer, a mild winter with sharp drops in temperature of up to - 15 ° C. and sometimes heavy rains in autumn and spring.

The oldest vines were planted in the 1970s and the average age of the vineyard is 35 years. All our plots are cultivated organically according to the guidelines of the AB (Organic Agriculture) cultivation association and are classified as wines of Designation of Controlled Origin.

Organic vineyard of the Domaine les Patys, in the background the Mont Ventoux

The most important grape varieties

Grenache Noir, Syrah and Carignan for red and rosé wines, as well as Roussanne, Clairette, Grenache Blanc and Vermentino for white wines.

We also produce organic olive oil of AOC Provence quality from the local varieties Aglandau or Verdale de Carpentras. This small green olive that turns purple gives a fruity green oil when it is crushed at harvest or, after a few days of fermentation, refined in the absence of air.

The Ventoux Biosphere Reserve

Since 1990, Mont Ventoux has been part of a human and biosphere reserve, a label awarded by UNESCO for a territory which recognizes the capacity of its inhabitants to live in an exceptional environment and to preserve it at the same time. Le Ventoux has been officially a regional natural park since 2020.

Man and the biosphere

Mont-Ventoux is home to exceptional biological wealth and a wide variety of ecosystems. The Man and the Biosphere program has three functions.

The central zone of the Mont Ventoux Biosphere Reserve is dedicated to protection and consists of several units.

• At the top, an area of ​​10 km2 with rich flora in a pseudo-alpine environment.
• The Orsini viper lives under 4 km2 of lawns on the Mont Serein side.
• The gorges of the Nesque are the homes of the royal eagles, the peregrine falcons and the endemic Nivéole de Fabre (Acis fabrei or knot flower of Fabre), which deserve to be protected.
• 81 hectares at the entrance of the cave in hilly terrain with Mediterranean lawns, a cedar forest near Bédoin, which is home to a wide variety of birds.

Autumn

September, the summer is coming to an end, a certain excitement begins to quietly rise. The grapes are beautiful, the tasting tests begin. The tension increases, the winegrower makes sure of the correct degree of ripeness through laboratory analyzes, especially whether the ratio of sugar, acidity and PH values ​​have been reached. The plots are harvested individually according to their maturity.
The grape harvest

Constant monitoring of weather forecasts precedes the beginning of the harvest. The stress of waiting gives way to the adrenaline rush. For three weeks, daily life is awaited through the cutting of the grapes, the arrival of the bins and crates full of grapes at the winery. Then comes the direct pressing of the grapes for the rosé and white wines, interrupted only by the preparation of the mash for the red wines.

The grapes for the red wines are only harvested manually, for the white and rosé wines both manually and mechanically. For the base wines, they are in large transport tubs that can hold several hundred kilos, for the two top wines Arakao and Ama Dablam in small transport crates so as not to damage the grapes.

The fermentation

In the second half of October, all the grapes have arrived in the cellar, the fermentation of the first barrels is coming to an end. Until the end of November everyone is busy pumping, decanting, checking and regulating the temperature of the must. Each cuvée is processed according to the type of wine, depending on what wine you want to make.

Separating the wine from the pomace

The fermentation is finished, for the red wines there is still devatting. this is the name of the process by which the pomace is separated from the wine.

That's it, the wines can begin their maturation. After the stirring, the sound of the pumps and the press, the basement is strangely quiet. For the winegrower and his employees, despite the onset of tiredness, it is a time for satisfaction, almost a feeling of happiness about the work done. After a short break for man and wine, the long vegetative cycle resumes in April for a new vintage.