La Tour du Tourril
Château Tourril is hidden away in Roubia, in the Minervois hinterland, between the medieval city of Carcassonne and the Canal du Midi. The Franco-German Kandler family arrived there by sea more than thirty years ago, at a time when few people believed in the region's potential, and bought remote land in the backcountry. The name comes from the Pierre du Tourril, an ancient Gallo-Roman signal tower that has overlooked the garrigue for around two thousand years.
Stephan Kandler, the second generation, took up the torch in 2014 after twenty years of high-level sailing, including a participation in the America's Cup. A passionate entrepreneur, he brought new momentum to the estate, driving the conversion to organic farming and a return to more refined-style wines made with very little intervention.
The vineyard comprises sixteen hectares of vines aged fifteen to forty-five years, nestled in a clay-limestone amphitheatre in unspoiled nature, facing southwest, sheltered from strong winds and frost. Planted at altitudes of between thirty and sixty metres, the grape varieties are varied: syrah, cinsault, grenache, mourvèdre and carignan for the reds and rosés, roussanne and rolle for the whites. The land is farmed organically and production is carried out without pesticides, with a concern for preserving the biodiversity of the terroir.
The entirely manual harvest is the start of meticulous work. Vinifications are carried out with native yeasts in stainless steel vats, with ageing in French oak barrels for certain cuvées; the winemaker limits inputs and handling as much as possible to obtain the purest possible wine.
The range includes a syrah and grenache red with silky tannins and an intense garnet colour, evoking cherry, spices and vanilla; a very pale cinsault and grenache rosé; a roussanne white available by allocation only; a light AOP Minervois red from carignan, syrah and grenache; and an AOP Minervois red with no added sulfites, which lets the fruit express itself.
Details gathered from the estate's website and public sources, for information only.
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