Domaine Saint Cels - Wines of Saint Chinian

Le Domaine Saint-Cels is an independent winery committed to a spirit of modernity and environmental respect that actively contributes to the renewal of the wine-growing region of Saint-Chinian.

Invigorate the land

Saint-Cels is a locality very close to the town of Saint-Chinian. He gave his name to Domaine Saint-Cels whose tasting cellar is located in the small hamlet of Castelbouze located a short distance away. At this point, past the small parade of old houses that line the path, the landscape opens onto limestone cliffs, typical of the region. At their foot, the first vines rise in well-ordered rows on the ascending slope of the hillsides. In this small world one can guess an intimacy where family history, power of the terroir and wine-growing tradition intertwine. The place concentrates all the features of a landscape specific to theSaint Chinian appellation : mineral intensity, Mediterranean flora, layering of reliefs. Between shales and limestones, on an 80 hectare vineyard exploited in organic farming, the frame is set.

Dare to be different

If the small hamlet of Castelbouze seems to have settled in an attractive rusticity, it quickly turns out that another story is being written in Joseph's House which hosts the Wine Shop du domain Saint Cels. Étienne and Marie Rouanet, the winegrowers, knew how to reinvent the place by infusing this family heritage with a luminous modernity. And it is not a question of a simple impression but of a choice assumed like a motto: " Daring to be different — Risking modernity — Allowing oneself all the freedoms. This mindset could be summed up in one word: creativity. At Domaine Saint-Cels breathes a desire for renewal, essential for a Saint Chinian appellation whose AOC classification dates back to 1982. For Étienne and Marie Rouanet, the spirit is to invent a new way of making and thinking about wine by adapting it to the spirit of the times. If the terroir remains the guarantor of the structure of Saint Chinian wines however, it is in the cellar that the spirit of renewal asserts itself and takes shape. It is in its intimacy and its concentration that the cuvées of Domaine Saint-Cels patiently reach their full expression.

Vinify with freedom

Au Domaine Saint-Cels, this spirit and this will have generated a clear and coherent range of wines. It is divided into four families: The Sparks, The Naturals, The Timeless, The Confidential.
The first two families, declined in red wines and white wines, combine the suppleness and freedom offered by vinification in IGP Pays d'Oc. They are primarily looking for the dazzling expression of the fruit, going as far as bottling without sulphites to The Naturals. The grape varieties themselves testify to this voluntary and generous choice: the white wines mobilize Rolle and Colombard, while the red wines make Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon sing in concert.
The two other families fall within the specifications of the Saint Chinian wines which reveal in their full expression the Syrah, Grenache, Carignan, Mourvèdre for the reds as well as the Roussane, Grenache blanc or Rolle for the whites. The first range of Saint Chinian – The Timeless – finds its consistency in a triology that brings together a red wine, a rosé wine and a white wine. First and foremost revealing the singularities of the terroir, they respectively evoke its identity: Grand Traverse, Under the Pines, Long Combe. The second range – The Confidential – captures the most accomplished expressions of the terroir, concentrated on a red wine and a white wine, both well named Thousand Stars-White et Thousand Red Stars.