01/19/2025
Enfants Sauvages
Following her studies in architecture, Carolin Bantlin worked as a project manager in a well-known architectural studio in Stuttgart, Germany. When their first son Falk was born in 1996, she joined her husband Nikolaus in the family business of manufacturing industrial goods. Even then, they were dreaming of a holiday home in the Midi. This region of France appealed to them so much so that they even considered relocating the belt production company there. In 1998, when their second son Juri was born, the Bantlins came across a sheepfold for sale in the Opoul region. It was bordered by 7.5 hectares of vineyards. They literally fell under the spell of this magical place. But what to do? Become a winegrower? Absolutely!
A year later, the decision was made, and the family bought the sheepfold and its vines on the condition that they would be rented for the next two years. In the meantime, they learned about vines and winemaking through books, including the book Le vin, du ciel à la terre by Nicolas Joly. It was already clear that they would work the land biodynamically. To learn more, Carolin went to Olivier Pithon for a training course. The couple then transformed the courtyard of the family home into a production cellar.
As the winery and the vines are separated by an imaginary line drawing the boundary between different appellation areas, they had to downgrade their production to Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes. With no neighbors, the estate is essentially surrounded by scrubland. The grape varieties used for the red wine are Carignan, Grenache, Mourvèdre and Syrah. For the white wine, Grenache blanc and gris, Macabeu, Muscat and a little Vermentino. The cultivation of the vines is resolutely turned towards biodynamics. As craftsmen, the aim is to produce a natural and sincere wine without artifice. The common thread between the winemakers and their land; love and respect.
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