Domaine Mons La Graveyre

Cantina e Vini

Only 15km south of Bordeaux, Mons La Graveyre is a whole landscape, a piece of art! 4 hectares nestled on a south-facing hillside which is overlooking the Garonne River, 2 hectares of vineyards snuggled among a ubiquitous nature.

Starting at 100 meters high on a gravelly ridge called Arcadia (composed of Cabernet Sauvignon only), referring to Albator’s starship. A ship flagpole stands right in the middle of the vines, a pirate flag hoisted, rows of vines plunging into the Garonne, it sure is a genuine ship! Then, going a few meters down, passing through the undergrowth (a true biotic pump); still overlooking the sweet Garonne River, we are now on the quarries, great terroir of clay-limestone, they are the Cordouan and Belhara plots (Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, the oldest dating back to 1956, we are selecting the best ones in order to preserve and maintain the genetic biodiversity). At the very end of Cordoua, we planted truffle oaks that are growing strong. The sea is never too far from us and our origins. Let’s now pass by a wild zone, left untouched for wildlife. Then, going even deeper in the vines, we end up in a sanctuary, a corrie made of majestic trees: Laminak. An enchanted plot that refers to the fantastic beings of the Basque mythologie.

This place works as a whole! A cohesion of the ecosystems, a balance I am endeavoring not to bother and that inspires me.

I am Aurélie Carreau and I work all alone at the estate. I am from a rather conventional training (oenology and agricultural engineering), for more than 10 years I worked as a technical manager on various wine estates, mostly in Pomerol. Later on, I felt like moving somewhere else, having my own vines and creating my own wine focused on a virtuous type of agriculture.

My research led me to Cambes and it was love at first sight because of this place, this view and this terroir. My choice was made, this would be the place where I would express my job, my passion and what a place to settle as a family! 2016 marks the debut of my commitment to organic agriculture, biodynamics follows agroforestry and the diversification of the crops. It was also time to repair the water cycle thanks to regenerative hydrology and drawing inspiration from the permaculture principles.

Lots of things are already set up but there is a long way to go, filled with lessons, meetings and sharing. I want this place to become a role model, an example of resilience against the stakes of climate change.

At Mons La Graveyre, there is very little mechanization, by choosing not to trim the top of the vines, neither to plow but also because of the steepness of the land that is quite tricky to work with! So hand-picking is a must!

Since 2017, my wines are made according common principles:

I only harvest by hand, healthy and perfectly ripe grapes.
I do not add any inputs, a tiny bit of sulfites only when required.
The vinification process is gentle, very few interventions but very thoroughly.
My wines are raised from 15 to 18 months in oak barrels and clay amphoras in order to keep the freshness of the fruit without a very noticeable oaky taste.
The vinification is very gentle, having preferred infusion to extraction
I punctually filtrate our wines before it is bottled only if needed.
Vinification is carried out with indigenous yeasts only

I only produce 1 cuvée of red wine, called Mons La Graveyre which is certified AB and Biodyvin. This cuvée is composed of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, the exact variety ratio found in the vineyard.

I also produce a white wine called "Maman fait du vin"/"Mommy makes wine", that is made of 100% of sémillon. This dry white wine is very lively, easy to drink.

I also produce a wine eau de vie, made of old wines. This eau de vie was put to age in already used oak rhum and cognac barrels, giving it sweet aromas.