Chateau des Estanilles – we meet the new owner

Château Estanilles is a well-known, no to say famous, property in Faugères in the Languedoc, not least thanks to the charismatic (previous) owner Michel Louison. Times are changing and the winery has changed hands. At Vinisud we met briefly with the new owner, the young Julien Seydoux, and talked about his plans.

“We have many projects”, he says, “both concerning the wine style and the cellar. We will change the 225 litre barrels and start using the600 l semi-muids, and we’ll probably get a few fermentation vats in oak. And we’ve hired Claude Gros as a consultant”. Gros is based in Narbonne and has clients everywhere, but most are in the Languedoc-Roussillon. “He makes wines I like” says Julien, “lots of fruit, only a slight touch of wood, made from ripe grapes. It is very important to work with the ripeness. And we want to have wines that are good to drink young, but that also can age. It’s important to retain the fruit and protect the must from oxidation, for example by putting the grapes in a cooling room after the harvest.” Julien wants to but his stamp on the wines, just like Michel Louison did. “He was very focused on terroir”, says Julien, “he had a more traditional style than what we will be looking for. The vineyards are in perfect shape but we have lots to do in the wine cellar.”