L’Inédit Rouge

Grape varieties :  Carignan 99%, Merlot 1%

Terroir : Argilo-calcaire, cailloutis

Vinification :

For this cuvée entirely harvested and vinified by Les Masques, the grapes come from the family vineyards of our technical director, Yannick, located in the neighboring commune of Pourrières, in the Arc Valley. It is a single plot of land, a few hundred meters from the place where the monument to the glory of Marius Caius, the Roman general who achieved one of the most outstanding victories of the Empire, was built. From here, there is a panoramic view of Sainte-Victoire and Cengle, where the Masques’ vines can be clearly seen. These are Carignan planted in 1959 by Yannick’s grandparents. On this frozen soil, they had to be grafted on the spot and worked entirely with a pickaxe during their first years. They are in biologic conversion and are the oldest vines currently exploited by Les Masques.

Hand-picked, in small open worked creates. The bunches are vatted whole: this is carbonic maceration, following the model of Beeaujolais wines in particular, aiming at an optimal expression of the fruity notes and a lesser extraction of tannins, thanks to the natural intra-cellular fermentation.

After a few days, a light manual pigeage and very short pumping over are practiced, in order to bring a minimum of structure and color. Once devatted, the press juices finish their fermentation separatly and are then blended after tasting. Maturing in small stainless steel anks to preserve the fruit. Sulphiting is late and very light. At the time of bottling at the very beginning of summer 2020, the analysis reveals less than 40mg/litre of Total Sulphites, i.e. twice less than the Biodynamic maximum in this category. After a few weeks to a few months in the cellar, this rate will probably be within the standards for so-called “natural” wines (30mg/l for the AVN specifications).