BERTRAND-BERGÉ

  
Jérôme Bertrand

“Quintessence of the terroir”

Between the Languedoc and Roussillon sits the small village of Paziols. Winding roads through the Fitou Montagneux (“mountainous Fitou”) take you to Domaine Bertrand-Berge, 84 acres where the family of Jérôme Bertrand has been in the wine business for six generations. Bertrand’s great grandfather, Jean Sirven, won a gold medal for the Domaine’s wines at the Universal Exhibition of Paris in 1900. More than a century later, Jérôme — with help from his wife Sabine and his sister Magali — carries on the tradition. “Our mission is to obtain the quintessence of the terroir,” says Jérôme.

Domaine Bertrand-Berge’s red wines, made from blends of Carignan, Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Syrah possess a refined nobility and complexity that compare favorably with any age-worthy vin de garde wines. Yet Bertrand-Berge’s wines are also eminently approachable. Grapes are tasted during the harvest to control for maturity, hand-picked and meticulously sorted to produce beautiful fruit expression. At the same time, the rocky, slate-dominated soil of the Languedoc gives the wines backbone and structure.

Jérôme has restored Bertrand-Berge to the glory of it past. For many years prior to 1993, the winery functioned as part of a cooperative, selling grapes to others.  But under Jérôme’s leadership, the operation regained its independence and recommitted itself to producing great wine. Fittingly, one flagship cuvee bears the name Jean Sirven, the ancestor whose wines were celebrated more than 100 years ago. He would be proud.

Learn more about Domaine Bertrand-Bergé here.