Le Clos d’Elle, Languedoc, France
On the "Yellow Road" good news: new members - winemakers from a unique region Languedoc. Languedoc are the Cathar castles, the most beautiful places on the coast near the Spanish border and ... great wines.
I thank Laurie Bousquet - Le Clos d’Elle - for the serious assistance she provided to us in preparing this publication.
I hope this interview with Laurie will please our readers.
1 - What did Claude Bousquet do before 1987? And why the choice fell on Languedoc?
Claude was born in Cournonterral, in a region and a village where winegrowing and the culture of winemaking is like the air they breathe. After completing his mandatory military service in 1987, at the age 23, he returned to Cournonterral and began to slowly aquire small parcels of grapevines, among which were of course the traditional Languedoc varieties : Carignan, Mourvedre, Grenache, Syrah and Cinsault for the reds but also Vermentino, a traditional Corsican variety, Chardonnay and Roussane. He began his work as a cooperateur, working with the large coopératives strictly as a winegrower, but he had always dreamed of creating his own wines, and thus founded his own wine cellar, Le Clos d’Elle, ten years ago. The terroir of this area is rocked between the cold Tramontagne winds from the north and the softer warmer winds that originate on the Mediterranean sea…the soil is pebbly and well drained and allows for interesting and complex herbal notes in the wines due to the « garrigue » land that surrounds the village.
2 - Please share the story of your favorite white (yellow) wine.
Claude purchased land high in the garrigue, a parcel called « Rouviége », and planted Roussane there, using the grapes from this parcel to create a wine using classical vinification methods. When his son Mathieu rejoined the family business, he decided in 2016 to age a percentage of the Roussane in French oak barrels, creating more of a Rhone Valley style profile, adding toasted notes and complexity to the wine.
3 - Do you prefer (it's important for you) the color of the wine?
The color of any wine is very important, because it gives you information about the wine : the age, the acidity, the style of wine.
4 - List, if possible, a set (gift box) of three-four own wines (red and white), which, in your opinion, can be worthy of representing your farm.
A good three bottle pairing representative of our domaine would be our Huis Clos, our Rouviége, and our limited edition Les Pontels chardonnay.
5 - You can offer the most beautiful view (favorite point) on vineyards or the surrounding landscape. May I ask you to take one-two photos of your favorite places, Coulazou?
6 - Your vineyards are located in fantastically beautiful places... What is your favorite place on the Mediterranean coast?
In our region , we like the Pyrenées Orientales and Catalogna…Coullioure is a beautiful village on the Languedoc Mediterranean coast. Nearby, we have also St Guilhem le Desert, one of the most beautiful villages in France. The ancient ruins of Château Aumelas are a special, secluded place not far from our domaine.
7 - Your estate is located near one of the most beautiful cities in France - Montpellier. Do you have favorite places there?
The Place de la Comedie, with the Opera, the Esplanade Charles de Galle and the elegant statue of the Three Graces, is one of the most iconic places in Montpellier. The Jardin des Plantes, located next to the most ancient medical school in Europe, is a tranquil oasis, where one can image Nostradamus and Balzac in their time (both students at the medical school at one time !) The Place de la Canourge is a quiet square of cafés with interesting history leading back to the Religious Wars in Montpellier and enjoys a beautiful view towards the cathedral, and the Place de la Peyrou and the aqueduct are equally iconic.
8 - What is your choice on the "Yellow Road"?
We would choose our Rouviége, mentioned above ; equally this year, we have introduced a small production of a single-parcel varietal wine called Les Pontels. It is exceptional.
9 - What cultural event would you like to see at home: an exhibition, an opera, a ballet, something else or do you have enough of your own events?
Every Friday during the summer, we host open events with live music, regional cuisine, local producers presenting oysters platters, tapas, and tielle (a regional specialty), dancing and of course tasting of all our wines. Occasionally as part of these events, we have art exhibitions, dance performances and even once a fashion show. We participate in numerous regional tasting events and festivals in the region as well.
10 - All dreams come true or something remains unfulfilled?
We continue to reshape our vineyard for the future as we enter our first year of our official conversion to organic, sustainable agriculture.
We hope to expand our presence in the sector of oenotourism with, eventually, the addition of a restaurant or bistro at the domaine ; we would like to also construct a glassblowing demonstration studio and education center, where guests can learn the magic of both glass and wine together.
For the moment, we just finished constructing our event hall two years ago, and will be continuing construction by creating a new wine caveau below the event hall for the vinification of our wines on site.
Sergey Evtuhov, author of the project "Yellow Road".
