RELATION. At Château Saint-Louis, the first AOC Fronton estate to be certified organic, the wine reaches excellence

In the depths of the massifs of Labastide-Saint-Pierre, the juice of the vine seems to clarify the spirit. Here, throughout the year, drinking wine is like tasting a genius. At the Château Saint-Louis, whose arcades compete with the beauty of fair briquettes, the winery created in 1991 by Ali Mahmoudi is having a good time. Since the death of this former doctor of physics and his wife Marie-Cécile, their son Benoît has joined the estate, surrounded by a dynamic and competent team.

Today it is Sylvie, site manager, who was her father’s right-hand man, who takes care of the visits and tastings: “There are three of us all year round, and our team is particularly complementary” underlines Sylvie. There is Lili, a service provider, who takes care of the commercial aspect, management and connection with customers. In a much more technical use, Jean-Paul and Dimitri work the vineyards: “Here we do everything on site, the year is marked by the harvest, vinification and bottling”.

What a long way for this company that started with a few vats and five hectares of vineyards: “The site has been completely renovated, we are planting many vines, we were also the first in Fronton wines to plant Chardonnay”. Today, nearly thirty hectares illustrate many bucolic amenities, such as these vine leaves that compete in color.

A special quality

A conversion to organic farming has been underway since 2005: “We have to highlight some changes to the specification, which require numerous checks on the vine, in particular without any chemical input” underlines Sylvie. Copper is limited, there is even a sulphite-free cuvée.

In the Fronton denomination, the team guarantees a high quality of the products. Red, white, rosé, but also organic grape juice, we pick the bunch before it hangs. There is the old cellar, a true work of art, where human know-how holds deep secrets of ingenuity.

In these wetlands, between Campsas and Bressols, life thrives on the shallows: “When it freezes, it’s very intense and there will be no shortage of repercussions on the vines.” But expertise does not deceive: “We do everything in tightly corked bottles, stored away from light at a constant temperature, and we have a special place in organic purchasing centres”.

Blending, bottling, labeling and packaging, here the wine is a little happiness in the soul, which explains the loyalty of so many customers. For good vintages, in a magnificent setting, groups are welcome: “We are a small company on a human scale, every request is treated with particular attention”.

Saint-Louis wine, bathed in the rays of Iran, requires only a corkscrew.