{"id":21489,"date":"2024-09-18T16:20:14","date_gmt":"2024-09-18T14:20:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/boucabeille.com\/vineyards\/"},"modified":"2025-07-30T21:03:40","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T19:03:40","slug":"vineyards","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/boucabeille.com\/en\/vineyards\/","title":{"rendered":"vineyards"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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vineyards<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Viticulture on a unique terroir<\/h4>

The vineyards are located on the For\u00e7a R\u00e9al massif (altitude 505 m), 15 km northwest of Perpignan.<\/p>

The terroir is made up of slate schist, formed over 450 million years ago during the Paleozoic era These are metamorphic rocks: originally clay-rich sediments that were subjected to intense pressure and temperature variations, transforming into thin, plate-like layers<\/span><\/p>

The soil allows vine roots to grow deep in search of what they need: water and minerals. It is both permeable and dry. <\/p>

Our hillside on the slopes of For\u00e7a R\u00e9al benefits from the gentle southeast sun \u2014 less scorching in summer than the setting sun \u2014 the northwesterly Tramontane wind, and the coolness brought by altitude. <\/p>

Few vineyard terroirs in the world require as little treatment as the For\u00e7a R\u00e9al terroir.<\/p>

With over 50 years of experience on our For\u00e7a R\u00e9al terroir, since the first plantings by founder Ren\u00e9-Jean Camo, we have developed a vineyard cultivation approach uniquely adapted to this land. <\/p>

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A few principles :<\/h4>

The vine needs very little water and only produces great wines when it is made to struggle a little. We refuse to irrigate our vineyards, in order to craft wines that truly reflect our terroirs as they are today <\/p>

Hand harvesting: machine harvesting does not align with our philosophy of grape picking and would not allow us to carry out our parcel-based vinifications<\/p>

We limit but do not entirely renounce mechanical soil work \u2014 when conditions allow it. Each year, we carry out a tillage after harvest In this way, we push back the encroaching garrigue from the vineyard and break up the soil to better receive the autumn rains<\/p>

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* Row work is done with a hoe or an inter-row cultivator when conditions allow<\/p>

* Fungicide treatments are limited to a maximum of two applications per year<\/p>

* We use no insecticide treatments, even those permitted in organic farming<\/p>

* We adapt our practices in the vineyard and in the cellar to the specific conditions of our location \u2014 the northwesterly Tramontane wind, altitude, southeast-facing slopes, and schist terroir \u2014 rather than to private specifications or labels<\/p>

* We use manure from sheepfolds in the Upper Aude Valley, but no fertilizers or soil amendments from the agro-industry <\/p>

* We adapt our interventions to the seasons, variations in temperature and humidity, and, when possible, to lunar cycles (bottling, pruning, racking, grape harvesting).”<\/p>

* For the past 50 years, we have been planting trees around all our vineyards \u2014 cork oaks, olive trees, cedars, and pines. As a result, every vineyard is now surrounded by forest <\/p>

* Installation of beehives and creation of ponds<\/p>

To meet our customers\u2019 expectations, we have been certified by Veritas France since 2008 \u2014 for France under the “Vin biologique” label, and for the United States under the NOP (“wines made with organic grapes”) certification<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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… Land of the First Humans<\/h4>

This schist hillside offers a breathtaking panorama over the entire Roussillon plain and the sea. Human beings lived in this environment 550,000 years ago. They were reindeer hunters, as evidenced by the human remains discovered at the \u201cCaune de l\u2019Arago,\u201d near the present-day village of Tautavel.
The Tautavel Man sourced his stones within a 30-kilometer radius, notably in the T\u00eat Valley. He was a Homo heidelbergensis, a relative of the Neanderthal. After encountering Homo sapiens, who came from Africa, he passed on some of his genes to us. <\/p>

That is why, during vineyard development work, we regularly find flint tools and stone fragments once used by these distant ancestors<\/p>

The For\u00e7a R\u00e9al hill is visible from all across the region. Its pyramidal shape has served as a maritime landmark since antiquity, guiding fishermen at sea. Making wine on land once walked by the first humans \u2014 and on a hill that has long been a fixed point for sailors in the storm \u2014 gives a unique meaning, and a special flavour, to the work of a vigneron <\/p>

Suave, mari magno turbantibus aequora ventis,
e terra magnum alterius spectare laborem;
non quia vexari quemquamst jucunda voluptas,
sed quibus ipse malis careas quia cernere suavest (Lucr\u00e8ce, De Narura Rerum<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Some archives… <\/h2>

Drawing of the creation of an experimental vineyard \u2013 January 1976<\/h5>

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Geological studies (1988)<\/h4>

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further informations<\/em><\/p>

Bureau Veritas<\/a> | Agence Bio<\/a> | INAO<\/a> | F\u00e9d\u00e9ration Nationale d’Agriculture Biologique | <\/a>Demeter<\/a> | Biodynamie Services<\/a> | Vitisph\u00e8re | <\/a>Biodyvin | <\/a>Civam Bio 66<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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