# Cassagne et Vitailles Les Célis (2021)

- **Producer:** Cassagne et Vitailles
- **Colour:** red
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Grenache
- **Region:** Languedoc-Roussillon, France
- **Style:** Classic
- **Alcohol:** 13.0%
- **Average price:** €110
- **Vegan:** No
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 15–17 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** strawberry, cherry, raspberry, rose, black pepper, herbaceous, vanilla, cloves, cedar

## About this wine

Domaine Cassagne et Vitailles was founded in 2015 by close friends Matthieu Rollin and Nicolas Seffusatti. After a decade importing fine wines into China, they returned to their native Southern France, establishing their estate in a fortified 15th-century property in Montpeyroux. Sourced from a single parcel named 'Les Célis', this rare cuvée is grown on unique, iron-rich red sand-clay soils known as 'ruffe'. The estate operates under biodynamic principles, treating their old-vine Grenache with the meticulous care typically reserved for Grand Cru Burgundy.

## Interesting facts

- Only 1,000 bottles of the 2021 vintage were produced, making it an exceptionally rare allocation.
- The wine is aged in Chassin barrels, the legendary cooperage used by Domaine de la Romanée-Conti.
- The vines grow on 'ruffe' soils, a vibrant red, iron-rich sand-clay rock dating back to the Permian era.
- To combat speculation, the estate actively monitors and cancels allocations found on the secondary market.

## Food pairing

This elegant, medium-bodied Grenache behaves much like a fine Pinot Noir, offering high acidity and fine-grained tannins. It pairs beautifully with game, duck, and lamb, where the wine's vibrant acidity cuts through the rich fats, while its herbal garrigue notes complement rosemary, thyme, and juniper.

## Wine making process

The 2021 vintage of Les Célis was crafted using 50% whole-bunch fermentation to enhance freshness and structural tension. Vinification is characterized by minimal extraction, utilizing cold maceration and delicate infusion in small, temperature-controlled stainless steel vats to preserve the parcel's precise mineral identity. The wine was aged for 8 months in premium French oak barrels sourced from the prestigious Burgundian cooperage Chassin, followed by a refining period in concrete egg vessels to round out its texture before bottling.