More about Andrée

I have my roots in the St Roch vineyard high up on the Tauch mountain overlooking the valley.

If I put my glasses on and squint a bit I can see the 11th century Chateau d’Aguilar in the distance. I may be a carignan or a grenache vine, Katie has problems telling us apart especially before the leaves are fully developed! We are co-planted and Katie hand-picks us along with a couple of other old vineyards to make her delicious Domaine Jones Fitou.

My memory is fading and it’s difficult to remember the exact year when I was planted. It was during the heyday of vineyard planting here in Tuchan, so around 1905, when all the prime locations down in the valley had been planted and the vignerons had to reclaim higher areas of land from the garrigue.

It must have been a tough job if the big pile of stones in the middle of the vineyard is anything to go by!

Now in my twilight years, I am so thankful to Katie for only asking me to produce small amounts of grapes. I concentrate all my energy into making sure those bunches ripen to perfection. Thank goodness I no longer need to shoo away the wild boar. Jean-Marc put up a fence – you could say I was de’fence’ less before and felt Katie’s sorrow when she discovered my grapes had been nibbled by les sangliers !

And if you’re wondering what my wine tastes like, well, Katie’s wine expert friend Joanna Simon described it as

“wild herb, spice, nutmeg. So full and generous, smooth and a fabulous concentration. Ripe but no sense of jamminess – freshness and length with a little bit of liquorice”

A votre santé! xx