Les Vignerons de Rasigueres

5 Avenue de Caramany, 66720 Rasiguères, France

Geographical location
Located at the foothills of the Pyrenees between Corbières and Roussillon, the Fenouillèdes shelter the winemaking villages that remain attached to their traditions and their hillsides: LANSAC, PLANEZE and RAZIGUERES.

History
For over 2,000 years the vines have existed on the hillsides, and over these centuries the winemakers of the region have been crafting and selling their own wine.
Founded in 1919, the cellar of the Vignerons de Planèzes-Rasiguères brings together 80 winemakers from these three villages and is on of the first cooperatives in Roussillon.
In 1975, it obtained the AOC Cotes du Roussillon and AOC Cotes du Roussillon Villages designations. Rasiguères was immediately classified in the Roussillon Villages area.
Today, 50% of the production is sold by export.

The vineyard
In total, this cultivation of 600 hectares of vines produces close to 20,000 hL in an environment of steep hillsides that prohibit the use of any machinery.

The terroir, which is completely classified as AOC is divided into two zones:

• to the south, in PLANEZE and RAZIGUERES, on slopes of schist and thin soil with sparse water reserves the yields are a little over 30 hectoliters/hectare. This zone favors the crafting of red Côtes du Roussillon Villages and amber dessert wines.
   

• to the north, in LANSAC, on a granitic area deeper soil and yields on the order of 45 hL/hectare. This zone produces wines that are easier to drink young and are ideal for Côtes du Roussillon rosé and Muscat de Rivesaltes.

The harvests are manual and the arid soil does not allow for the production of more than one bottle of wine per vine stock.

Primary varietals
Red Wines: Grenache Noir, Carignan, Syrah and Cinsault
White Wines: Grenache Gris and Blanc, Macabeu, Muscat of Alexandria and small-berried Muscats