Domaine Listerne – Cuvée Malacasca

Producer

Jean-Paul Cabanis at Vauvert

Origins/History

Domaine de Listerne, an estate of 17 hectares of vineyard, is situated in a locality at Vauvert called Mas Madagascar. Listerne is the name of a stream near the village.

The origin of this wine’s name is two-fold: firstly, the Occitan for “dishevelled”- the Mistral wind sweeps across this undulating part of the country; secondly, reference is being made to a visit to this locality in 1887 by the Madagascan Queen Ranalavona III, hence the current name of Madagascar.

Geography

Situated in the South of France zone, the Costières de Nîmes vineyards are spread between the Cevennes to the north, the Camargue to the south and the Rhône to the east. Domaine de Listerne is at the heart of the appellation towards the sea, with vineyards at 50-100 metres above sea-level.

The vineyard and its management

The vines are pruned in “goblet” fashion. This allows for protection of the bunches from direct sunlight and better water retention. But the vineyard being fully south-facing the grapes get plenty of sunshine for the ripening process. As for terroir, this is of sandstone shingle, commonly found in the Rhône valley, lying over a clay-silica sub-soil.

Grape varieties

This wine is made up of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre, whose proportions change with each different vintage.

Wine-making and maturing

Harvested by hand in the mornings with the aim of keeping the fruit fresh. The bunches are destemmed and vinified in traditional fashion; yeast-oxygenating pump-overs are effectuated throughout fermentation. In order to keep primary aromas intact low temperatures of around 23°C are maintained during the fermentation. Tasting trials determine the subsequent use of pump-overs. Total time in the vat: 20 days. The wine is run off after further tastings.

Tasting notes

A fresh, violet-scented wine, velvety, full of soft fruit, with smooth, well-integrated tannins.