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About the Wine
Ripe, textural Sauvignon Blanc full of vibrant acids and that hallmark Ardèche rusticity and charm. Here, in some of the highest vineyards of the region, the grape ripens very differently to the cooler climbs of somewhere like the Loire. The 2023 vintage is beautifully balanced with vivid fruit sitting alongside mouth-coating texture. And as the name loosely suggests, plenty of mouthwatering refreshment.
Made with 100% Sauvignon Blanc from 50+ year old vines on sandstone. Laurent presses the grapes direct, then lets the juice settle for 24 hours before racking by gravity off the gross lees into tank. Ageing is usually around 10-11 months. The resulting wine simply explodes with fruit, pineapple juice vibes.
About Mas de l’Escarida
Laurent Fell’s vineyards sit 500m above sea level and this isolation is perfect for organic viticulture, surrounded by nature, the wild Cevennes forest. The elevation also brings freshness to the wines, the cool nights preventing the wines from getting to jammy, in an increasingly hot climate. The soil is sandstone formed in the Triassic period coming from the degradation of granite that was recompressed by pressure when the sea settled in this time. There are large quartz pebbles, shale and flint from the glacial scree.
Laurent's facility is simple, but purpose built for the way he wants to make wine. There is a platform behind the winery on which sits a basket press, when he presses the fruit, it runs by gravity down to the tanks where the wine has it's élevage.
He is meticulous in his work, a renowned viticulturist his fruit is pristine and cellar incredibly clean. Perhaps this is why his wines are too, despite him eschewing the use of sulfites, fining or filtering. The wines are about fruit and freshness, he wants to translate the youthful fruit of that vintage to the bottle and to that end élevage. tends to be relatively short to preserve that freshness.