MURIEL ZOLDAN
ANTOCYÂME
La Salvetat Belmontet
South-West, France
Muriel, her partner Benjamin, and their children, live together in a converted farmhouse at the end of a dusty road leading nowhere, other than to a neighbors place and her single plot of 7.5 hectares a hundred yards away up on the brow of the hill. From their house they have a view over the stunning countryside composed of rolling hills, forests, and vineyards here in the South-West of France between Gaillac, 24 miles to the east, and Montauban, 10 miles to the north west.
The vines fall within the geographical limits of the Côteaux et Terrasses de Montauban appellation, which is a tiny sub-division occupying little more than 50 hectares of the larger Comte Tolosan appellation. Grapes allowed here are a real mix, including Bordeaux varietals, three types of Gamay, Chardonnay, Syrah, and the more indigenous Tannat and excepting the Gamays, Muriel has most of them as well as the rarer Arboriou.
The family has been here since 2017, when Muriel and Ben moved from the Languedoc. Prior to that, Muriel, daughter and grand-daughter of rural farmers in the South-West, had obtained her oenologue diploma from Toulouse then worked for nine years at Domaine de Sauzet at the foot of the Cevennes hills, as oenologue and winemaker. Looking for somewhere big enough for their two families, Muriel and Ben settled in this little corner of paradise.
Muriel’s philosophy is aimed at respecting the grape, which for her means limiting oenological products in the winemaking process and says that her purpose as grower and winemaker is simply to “accompany” the grapes as they develop. Out in the vineyard, the grass is left to grow freely and Muriel places great importancce on green pruning. Once picked, Muriel dispatches the grapes into tanks of a variety of materials and shapes to ferment and age - sandstone amphora, neutral oak barrels, Flextank, fibreglass tanks, smaller concrete eggs, larger concrete tanks, not forgetting the three qvevri at the end of the garden !
The wines are, like her, full of energy and character, and they cross the spectrum from “easy-drinkers” to complex food wines.
currently available
Du Raisin A La Lune 2020
Appellation: Vin de France
Farming: Certified Agriculture Biologique
Grapes: Merlot, 40 years old on clay-limestone soils in Salvetat-Belmontet
Vinification: Direct press, fermentation in fibreglass and first bottling in February 2021. Disgorged July 2021. Aged six months in bottle before release.
Fining: No Filtering: No Added SO2: No Production: 190 cases ABV: 10.5%
CHurelurez 2022
Appellation: Vin de France
Farming: Certified Agriculture Biologique
Grapes: Merlot and Syrah (around 40% each), Tannat and Arboriou (around 10% each). All approx. 45 years old on clay-limestone soils in La Salvetat-Belmontet.
Vinification: Whole bunch carbonic maceration for 17 days in concrete tanks. Pressed then back into concrete tanks until bottling in March 2023.
Fining: No Filtering: No Added SO2: No Production: 190 cases ABV: 12.5%
18h17 2021
Appellation: Côteaux et Terrasses de Montauban IGP
Farming: Certified Agriculture Biologique
Grapes: Cabernet Franc, Syrah, 35 year old vines on clay-limestone soils in Salvetat-Belmontet
Vinification: Destemmed and short maceration in fibreglass tanks. Bottled in March 2022.
Fining: No Filtering: No Added SO2: No Production: 215 cases ABV: 12%
SLT 2020
Appellation: Côteaux et Terrasses de Montauban IGP
Farming: Certified Agriculture Biologique
Grapes: Syrah (56%), Cabernet Franc (34%), Tannat (10%), all from 15-20 year old vines on clay-limestone soils in Salvetat-Belmontet
Vinification: All destemmed and put into separate fibreglass and concrete tanks for maceration - Tannat 1 month, Syrah 6 weeks, Cabernet Franc 2 months. Pressed and blended. Aged 3 months in fibreglass and bottled in June 2021.
Fining: No Filtering: No Added SO2: No Production: 500 cases ABV: 13.5%
Libre Cours 2019
Appellation: Côteaux et Terrasses de Montauban IGP
Farming: Certified Agriculture Biologique
Grapes: Syrah, 20-30 year old vines on clay-limestone soils in Salvetat-Belmontet
Vinification: Destemmed and maceration for 2 months in Flextank. Pressed, fermented and aged for 9 months in Flextank. Bottled March 2021.
Fining: No Filtering: No Added SO2: No Production: 125 cases ABV: 14%
Stochastique 2019
Appellation: Côteaux et Terrasses de Montauban IGP
Farming: Certified Agriculture Biologique
Grapes: Cabernet Franc, 30 year old vines on clay-limestone soils in Salvetat-Belmontet
Vinification: Destemmed grapes put into concrete tanks for maceration of 6 weeks. Pressed, then sandstone amphora for 11 months. Bottled in March 2021.
Fining: No Filtering: No Added SO2: No Production: 110 cases ABV: 13.5%
