Tenth anniversary of the Mas Haut Buis and Domaine Des Grecaux
10 Portraits for 10 Years
The outsider of Languedoc
MAS HAUT BUIS
Self-taught, passionate
and caring for nature
Born in 1970, Olivier Jeantet leads the Mas Haut-Buis since 1999. From the very beginning, he opted for organic viticulture. "Chemical treatments really scared me," he says. "To have to dress like an astronaut before going to work in the vineyard and then let your children eat the grapes just cannot work."
In the cellar, Olivier Jeantet decided a couple of years ago to reduce the use of oak - or better said: to use it differently - for wine ageing. As a result, all small barrels (225 litres) have now been replaced by 600-litre demi-muids and 20-hectolitre Stockinger foudres. Since 2010, the Costa Caoude is only aged in foudres and it is now the same for Les Agrunelles. "Generally speaking, I believe that larger oak vats suit my wines and terroirs better," he says.
"The introduction of cement tronconic vats has oriented my winemaking towards lower and finer extraction" he adds. "Les Carlines is not aged in wooden casks anymore but only in cement vats for the red cuvée and inox tanks for the white one, to keep a highly fruity and tensed profile."
