The vineyard is located in Hérault, between Pézenas, Caux and Neffiès. The domain extends today on about twenty hectares distributed on about ten parcels, which allows us to benefit from all the palette that the Pézenas terroir has to offer.
The terroir of Pézenas is defined by a mosaic of soils ranging from ochre soil with villafranchian clay-limestone pebbles to basaltic flows, remnants of volcanic formations that have shaped the landscape, but also shale soils on the heights of Neffiès. The Mediterranean type climate is marked by its low rainfall, interspersed in certain years by cevenol episodes (huge rainfall in a small amount of time).
Aware of the need for a more environmentally friendly viticulture and convinced of its interest for the quality of our wines, the Mas des Auribelles is involved in a global approach in favor of biodiversity.
Primum non nocere, first do no harm, a Latin phrase usually used to define the practices of doctors, is a principle of prudence that guides our reflections and our choices of cultural practices. We are not blind to the environmental impact that our activities may have.
We start from the assumption that if the soil is healthy, then the vine is likely to be healthy too. The idea is to intervene as little as possible. Thus, we neither use weedkiller nor pesticides, nor chemical fertilizers. The soil is kept covered with natural grass, controlled by the natural mowing of a flock of sheep in winter for some vines and then by a mechanical mowing in early summer.
The best way to evaluate the impact of our practices is to know the quality of our biodiversity. In 2021, we participated in a program proposed by the Bird Protecttion LIGUE (LPO in french) called Des Terres et des Ailes (Land and Wings) which allowed us to make an inventory of birds, butterflies, reptiles, batrachians and bats living on the farm.
The ambition is to offer species that have deserted our countryside the possibility of returning to settle and to those that are still present, to be able to stay there. This diagnosis is an indicator that seems relevant and exciting. Proposals for improvement follow from it.
The report of this work can be consulted here.
Since 2020, the vineyard is in conversion to organic farming and the 2023 vintage will therefore be the first to be labeled organic (AB) by the certifier Ecocert.
