Chateau de Nouvelles. Fitou. Languedoc. Vines trained in Gobelet pruning. Old, gnarled and twisting vine. Terroir soil. The vineyard. France. Europe. Mountains and the Chateau d’Aguilar Cathar hilltop fortress dating from the 11th and 12th century in the background.
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Chateau de Nouvelles, Fitou, Languedoc, France, stock photography samples, by Per Karlsson, BKWine — This is only a selection of samples. Use Image SEARCH to find more photos — Chateau de Nouvelles is a wine estate in Fitou, near the Tuchan village, in the Languedoc in the south of France. The name does not have anything to do with that it is new; it is not. Rather it comes from Jacques Fournié de Novelli, a proprietor in the 14th century who became one of the Avignon-based popes under the name Benoit XII. And indeed, the soil in the Chateau de Nouvelles vineyards sometimes resembles that of Chateauneuf du Pape. It currently belongs to the Daurat-Fort family and is run by Jean and his son Jean-Rémy. They make wines of the Fitou and the Rivesaltes appellation. Fitou is the southernmost wine region in the Languedoc, bordering to the Roussillon.
The Chateau de Nouvelles vineyards are quite large for quality wine producers in the region. They have 76 hectares, planted mainly with traditional Languedoc grape varieties: grenache, syrah, carignan, mourvèdre. The vineyards are made up of different plots with a variety of soil types. Most are on gentle slopes.
The wine cellar of Chateau de Nouvelles, where the vinification takes place, is huge and ancient. There are many old foudres, the big wooden storage and aging vats, filled with wines waiting to be bottles. The wines are vinified and fermented in concrete vats or steel tanks; some are then aged in oak barrels. They also sometimes use roto-fermenters to help with the extraction of the must.
All images © copyright Per Karlsson, BKWine. Images may not be used without our permission.
Languedoc Fitou Chateau de Nouvelles – stock photo samples – Images by Per Karlsson