Chateau du Vieux Parc, Languedoc & Roussillon, France

VIEUX PARC: 'OLD' BECOMES 'NEW' WITH PRESERVATION OF TRADITION

Château du Vieux Parc is owned by Louis and Claudine Panis and dates back to the mid- ^19th century. For five generations, the Mialhe family and later the Panis family have cultivated the vineyards and they exceed their vintages with passion every year. In 1975, Guy Panis began bottling and exporting wines . His son Louis Panis has been in charge since 1987 together with his wife Claudine. They restructured and improved the grape varieties of the vineyards. Louis Panis is a true wine enthusiast and a great perfectionist . In 2000, a major investment was made in modernizing the wine cellars; the wine cellars and storage were completely renovated. The wine cellar was built in a multifunctional, innovative way; consisting of two levels ; one for maturing the wines in stainless steel tanks, bottling and storage of the pallets. The second underground level is ideal for growing the wine in French oak barrels. In 2005, his son Guillaume joined the company, after a solid wine education, various internships and a study in oenology, he joined the company. Guillaume's influence provides a fresh perspective on things and leads to further quality improvements. Chateau Vieux Parc combines tradition and modernity to produce quality wines .

AWARD WINNING WINES

Over the years, Château du Vieux Parc has won an impressive number of awards , which has given it more international recognition. For example, the winery won the Medaille d'Or , not only in the 2013-2014 vintage, but also in the 2016 Concour Corbiêres. They also received an award from Parker with 89 Parker points for the red Vieux Parc.

ABOUT CORBIÈRES

Château du Vieux Parc is located in the municipality of Corbières in the Aude region. This region is a mountainous area , just below Narbonne and Carcassonne . The area has a long wine tradition. The Romans already shipped large quantities of wine from the port of Narbonne. Corbières has many sub-regions. Roughly speaking, it can be divided into the Corbières-Maritimes , which stretches along the coast. Here the soil is predominantly calcareous. The Hautes-Corbières is a more mountainous region, with a rocky slate soil. The vineyard property of Vieux Parc comprises approximately 62 hectares of vineyard land. The Mediterranean climate in Corbières has extremes; very mild winters and fairly hot summers. The Tramontana, a strong cold wind from the northwest to the west (near the Pyrenees), mainly causes drought. This makes this area one of the driest regions of France.

VIEUX, REFINED & MAINLY RED!

The Corbières region mainly grows red grape varieties that are resistant to heat and drought. Grenache, Syrah and Carignan are very suitable for this. The wines of Vieux Parc are very refined. Especially his red Corbières are extremely well balanced. The Corbières Vieux Parc comes from very old Syrah vines . The wine, made from 50% Syrah, 40% Grenache and 10% Carignan has beautiful spiciness and good body. Tannins are well integrated in the wine; the spices come towards you in this beautiful glass. It also has an elevé and fût-de-chene, literally translated matured in wooden barrels ; this wine has undergone no less than 12 months of barrel maturation in French oak barrels.