4 elements (earth, water, air and fire) are essential for an organic life.

Earth: the soil

Our terroir: The sedimentary “amphitheatre” of the Roussillon. Trouillas is located at the food of the Pyrenean mountains (highest local peak mount Canigou) in an area called the Aspres (from the Catalan meaning “dry and stony”). The soil of the Aspres is built up by detritus hills from the Pliocene era, showing heterogeneous terraces which consist mostly of clay and chalk. Although being pretty coarse (with many stones), its structure is well balanced and thus provides an enormous capacity to retain water.
The vineyard is situated in the middle of a basin, surrounded by three large mountain chains: in the north the Corbieres, in the west the mount Canigou and in the south the Alberes. And to the east: The Mediterranean Sea.


Water

Water is life, essential for the vine. The grapevine is a very vivacious plant and thanks to its profound roots, it is capable to get nutrients even from far away. That turns out to be very important, as water lies very deep in the territory of the Aspres. The nearby Mediterranean influences the vineyard with its climate and its marine air.


Air : the wind

The Roussillon is well-known for its gusts of wind of the Tramontane. The direct effect is lowering the environmental humidity. Actually, humidity doesn’t stay very long, as every one in three days the wind blows. There are no less than 7 (!) different winds: the Tramontan, the Marinade, the winds of the Canigou, from Spain, the Levant, the Narbonais and the wind from the north. Although inconvenient for men, the wind provides for sunny days.

Fire : sun energy

The Roussillon is the sunniest region of France: 300 days / year.
This luminous energy is the necessary catalyst for the photosynthesis of the vine, which ripens very well and never too late. That’s the Catalonian sun.


The fifth element: the vine & men

To make wine, you need a vine which produces the grapes and men who produce wine out of the fermented grape juice. That’s the key. A symbiosis between vegetation and men.
The 4 elements give life, and they are particularly intense in the Roussillon : a very windy region, the sunniest one, in the middle of mountains, with one of the most varied soils of France and furthermore under the influence of the Mediterranean.

Distinguishing marks: the metal iron, which is found in the mount Canigou. This is the holy mountain (the thunderstorms here can be sometimes very violent). Its metallic mass acts with the static mass of the air and the stormy weather.