Mas des Caprices, 'Retour aux Sources'

Mireille and Pierre Mann, Producer

Fitou, a wild and remote subzone on the Languedoc-Roussillon border, is the very first granted appellation in that region. It consists of two small enclaves within Corbières: Fitou Maritime, a clay-limestone band around the saltwater lagoons on the coast, and Fitou Montagneux, a patch of mountainous schist fifteen miles inland. It’s in the former terrain, in the village of Leucate, on the north shore of L’étang de Leucate, where Mireille and Pierre Mann have been steadily building their estate, Mas des Caprices, into one of the top producers in the region.

This is a rugged land kissed by both the mountains and the Mediterranean Sea. High yields are impossible to achieve here. Indeed, many of the wines from this region are produced with similar (or even smaller) yields to the most sought after wines from Bordeaux and Burgundy.

The couple, both children of Alsace winemakers, ran a restaurant near the city of Colmar for 10 years. While they loved providing their patrons fresh local products, they felt the need for greater challenges. So they decided to rebuild their lives closer to the earth. In 2003 they moved to southern France and began reinventing themselves as winemakers.

Their passion was evident from the start. The duo eventually settled on the Mediterranean coast and quickly made a name for themselves by producing tasty, genuine wines. Certified organic in 2009, their guiding philosophy is meticulous work in the vineyard while respecting nature with the goal of producing wines that are both expressions of their unique environment and utterly delectable. Forget pudding, the proof of the wine is in the drinking.

Learn more about Mas des Caprices here.