Château Minuty : Côtes de Provence, Cru Classé Provence, our work


It is of the utmost importance to us to fertilise the soils using natural manure that is rich in organic matter, derived from goats and sheep. Labouring the soil enables the earth’s micro-organisms to breathe, prepares the ground for better absorption of the rain water and facilitates the roots’ going deep early on in their lifespan in order to search for their irrigation and nutrition in the sub-soils.
	Environmentally friendly vineyard management is used, which excludes herbicides and pesticides. The vineyard is surrounded by an officially-designated Protected Woodland Area which conserves the rich biodiversity of the terroir. We prioritise the fruit rather than the extraction, in order to keep the rich expression of our terroir.
Château Minuty is one of the last domains in the Côtes de Provence to harvest entirely by hand in order to ensure optimum quality of the grapes on arrival at the cellars. The bunches therefore arrive intact and undamaged, are destemmed to remove all the green matter and stalks and then are brought to a balanced temperature thanks to an original and efficient cooling system which is vital during extremely hot weather.
We have also installed pneumatic presses and small temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks in our cellars to allow for vinification of individual blocks. The white and red wines are aged in oak barrels - which are changed every three years, for 12 to 18 months to render them powerful, smooth and impart a good ageing potential. At Château Minuty the taste of wood is discreet, with barrels sourced from wood from the Vosges rather than the Tronçais forest, and no toasting so that the natural aromatic expression is not crushed or dominated by too much oak.