Between wine cellar and garden, from Mas Guillaume to the terraced vineyards that surround it, Clos Castell offers a site and wines from Collioure and Banyuls intimately linked to one of the rarest terroirs of Roussillon.
Between chemistry and alchemy
At Clos Castell , winemaking has been a tradition for three generations. In 1998, Jean-Christophe Jose took over the family business. With a solid background in chemistry—a valuable asset in winemaking—he oversees a heritage of vines rooted in the schist soils of Banyuls-sur-Mer . The estate stretches across the hillsides overlooking Mas Guillaume , the ancestral home with its centuries-old walls. On this rocky land, Grenache and Carignan grapes reign supreme. The goblet pruning style shapes a landscape where clusters of vines punctuate the mineral slopes. This minerality defines the profile of these wines, born from a terroir where two appellations overlap: Collioure and Banyuls . For the art of winemaking in these Catalan lands requires mastering the alchemy of both dry and naturally sweet wines.
Between the schist and the vine
Below Clos Castell, Banyuls-sur-Mer comes into view . From these sometimes steep-sided hills, the Mediterranean is more often glimpsed than seen. On some days, the wind that sweeps across the sea to the foam rises strongly among the vines. They have grown accustomed to the gusts. They have no ambition to grow tall: they stand firmly planted on their low, thick vines. They draw deep from the mineral soil a sap that the sun concentrates. The yields reflect the land: modest but full of character. Here, plant competition is a battle between species. The decision to plant grass in the vineyard necessitates a selection of the least invasive native plants. Jean-Christophe Jose is committed to this, aiming to improve the environmental quality of the estate.
Between the cellar and the garden
Tasting a Collioure or a Banyuls is to savor the brilliance of a mineral-rich soil and the power of its essence. At Clos Castell, the intimacy of the cellar and the garden also plays a significant role. While the Collioure wines remain undisturbed in the cellar, the Banyuls wines are brought outdoors to the terraces. The former seek shade and shelter so that the tannins soften and the bouquets develop. The latter call for oxygen and sun, which concentrate their sugars and enrich their complex flavors. Thus, the red and white wines are tasted first. First, a Collioure Rouge , made from old Grenache and Carignan grapes, develops its bouquet of red fruits and spices through the familiar contact with new oak barrels. Then, a Collioure Blanc , where the Grenache Gris, again in contact with subtle oak, establishes its mineral complexity upon a marriage of flowers and citrus.
Between the shade and the sun
At Clos Castell , when the must is fortified into naturally sweet wines, the first wine produced is a concentrated Banyuls Rimage with vibrant notes of cherry and spice. When aging continues in barrels, it yields a Banyuls Traditionnel , patiently enriched with notes of walnut, cocoa, and prune. If further aging takes place in glass demijohns exposed to the sun, a Banyuls Rancio emerges , with hints of caramel and candied orange. Ultimate elegance is expressed in a Banyuls Grand Cru . Here, the oldest Grenache vines offer juices of the highest expression after 30 months of oxidative aging. They then reveal their powerful aromatic structures, where Morello cherry vies with chocolate, and roasted coffee flirts with fig.
The delicacies of Clos Castell
On these hillsides where the vines produce concentrated flavors, Jean-Christophe Jose has chosen to explore his Grenache grapes to their fullest potential. This is why the estate also produces chocolates with white or red Banyuls wine , saffron jelly with white Banyuls wine , fig confit with Banyuls wine , and wine vinegar with Banyuls wine.
