Jas D'Esclans (Provence)

La Motte, Var (Provence).
The Domaine du Jas D'Esclan is located near Les Arcs, in the eastern part of the Var departement, 20km from Fréjus and the Mediterranean sea, and makes wine from about 53 hectares of vineyards, in the Cotes de Provence Cru Classé Appellation, which gathers since 1955 a happy few estates.
We know growers who farm organic after the usual years of farming conversion, but there are few estates which have always been organicly farmed, and Jas d'Esclan is one of them. When Matthieu De Wulf (who was previously a farmer in the south west of France) looked to purchase an estate, he visited 72 properties across France. He wasn't looking particularly for organic vineyards, but he wanted vineyards in good shape that didn't need to go through years of restructuring and replanting (10 to 15 years are often needed to restore a vineyard), and possibly on a good terroir with a good exposition. In his mind, the facility and the house were secondary, the vineyard condition was primordial. When he found this estate (about 6 years ago), he understood that this was the right one. The property for sale was not much publicized and he was the second potential buyer to visit. The owners were known to work without any pesticides or fertilizers, just copper and sulphur.

When the estate had finally asked for the organic label Ecocert in 1992, the Ecocert inspectors found out after conducting soil sampling analysis that it could be labelled organic right away, without having to go through the usual conversion period. The case was very unique. Plus, Matthieu De Wulf was happy to find a property complete with a facility, cellar and a house for his family, even though all needed extensive repairs and renovation. The scenic location was also a good point, as it is surrounded by the Rouet hills on one side and the Massif des Maures on the other side. The back country north from here has a low inhabitant density and lots of Provencal wilderness, in part because this is home to the largest military training camp in Western Europe (Canjuers), with 350-square-kilometers of no-go zone. Speaking of military, the nearby village of La Motte was the first village of Provence to be liberated during the Operation Dragoon on august 15th 1944, and there are pictures [icon on right] showing American gliders on this same vineyard plot above...Matthieu De Wulf in the CellarIt's been the 6th harvest here for the De Wulf family, and the winery facility is being renovated, with a new building for the vat rooms, cask cellar, retail-sales room and proper bottle-storing rooms now in place. But they want to keep the same family spirit and style of work that the customers around here have always known (50% of the wine is sold at the winery).
We happened to meet Matthieu De Wulf in a Provence tasting in Paris last march, and we liked the different wines we tasted there, the whites, rosés and reds. My notes then underlined his white 2005 "Cuvée du Loup", a very delicate, rich wine with a nice length (60% Clairette-40% Rolle, vinified and raised in casks), and also his Jas D'Esclans "Coup de Foudres" cuvée 2003 red, (2,5 years in foudres), a very classy and beautiful red at only 8 Euro. But since then, the rosé wines gained some fame : Jas D'Esclans had its rosés singled out in an International Rosé Competition that took place in Cannes last april 21-23rd, the "Mondial du Rosé" (it was the 4th edition). Jas D'Esclans was even the only estate of the region to win two gold medals, (see the results for the Cotes de Provence). The contest was organized by the "Union des Oenologues de France" [awful user-unfriendly-website, sorry]. Estates from 38 countries took part this year and only 36 gold medals were awarded. The share of rosé in the total production at Jas D'Esclans is high : 50% rosé, with 40% for reds and 10% for whites. But the average share for rosé in the estates of the region is more like 90%. In this regard, Matthieu De Wulf didn't sacrifice everything on the altar of rosé and kept a meaningful share for red wine.
The grape varieties here are Mourvèdre, Syrah, Grenache, Cinsault, Carignan, Tibourenc, Rolle, Clairette and Ugni Blanc.Inertys, the Atmosphere-Controlled Bucher PressWalking around the facility with Matthieu De Wulf (and his good old dog), we saw both the old part and the new one that is being built right now, which will have more room for the vats, the casks and bottle storage,and will provide also an easier access for the harvest or the delivery trucks. We began with the Atmosphere-Controlled Bucher Press, which he says is probably the very first being operational in the region. With this type of machine, the pressing is done under an inert gas (see demo) which protects the juice against oxydation at this sensitive stage. The whole press is air-tight, sort of, the grapes and juice bathing in nitrogen. When the press chases the nitrogen away, the gas goes inside a huge bag hanging over the press like a deflated hot-air-balloon, the gas coming back into the press when pressure reverses (at least, that's what I understood). The new technology is decisive to get juices in better conditions. If needed, this 80-hectoliter press can even be used as a vat, and thus without harming the wine. All the harvest is destemmed here, and the grapes are cooled before being pressed (see the cooling system on the wall behind the Inertys press above). Whites and rosés here go through cold maceration, from 2 hours (Syrah) to 18 hours (Cinsault, Tibourenc), and not through direct press like in other wineries in the region.
He shows then a vat room with several stainless steel vats [pic on left]. The winery has 50 vats (all being temperature-controlled) with a capacity of 100 hectoliter on average, and a total capacity of 5700 hectoliters.Robert Audibert : Cellar- and Chai MasterMatthieu De Wulf says that he will keep the foudres cellar (and the foudres of course). These foudres, or big casks, are made out of hungarian oak and were bought by the former owners after WW2. They were paraffin-lined for their former life of beer-brewing containers. They were restored, the paraffin removed for vinification use, and have been used for the red wines since then. Such a 7000-liter foudre costs 20 000 Euro when new. The winery has 16 foudres with a total capacity of 1400 hectoliters.
Several employees have been working here for many years, well before Matthieu De Wulf bought the estate (6 years ago) and they are the link with the tradition and the former owners. Robert is one of them. He overlooks the cellar and the chai, while his brother Yves is on the vineyard management side. They both know the place by heart and it helps.
Like for any organiclly-farmed vineyard, there is quite a lot of work and checks outside. The terroir is a permian soil with many different tilted strata, red clay and grit and "malaous" as it is called around here, a stone in the making, all of it a head-scratching puzzle for geologists, he says. The vineyard is in two parts, 35 hectares around the facility and 18 hectares further down the slope [second pic from top, where the gliders landed in 1944]. Showing the Self-Designed Plow BladesThe region is very dry, drier than usual, and not a single rain drop fell here from june 1st to august 15th. The vineyard gets regular plowings along the year of course. Mr De Wulf shows the special plow that was manufactured on his own design, the ones being found on the market going too deep under the ground, and would take the freshness and moisture of the undersoil away. This one, with horizontal blades designed like wings, plows minimally, at the surface, in order to cut the weeds, but without drying excessively the subsoil. In the drought context of Provence, such details make a difference for the vineyard. There are 7 to 9 runs of plowing around the year.
For the same variety, he has one week of maturity gap depending of the plot situation and has to harvest in several times accordingly. He replants plots progressively, after deep plowing (80cm), and with a tied-up cordon training. 10-12 hectares are machine harvested, the rest of the vineyard is hand harvested.
The wines :
__1 Jas D'Esclans Cru Classé Cotes de Provence white 2006. Gold medal in the Concours General Agricole in Paris. 90% Ugni Blanc, 10% Rolle.Very fresh on the nose. Richness in the mouth. Pear compote. Retail price 6,75 Euro.
__2 Jas D'Esclans Cru Classé Cotes de Provence white "Cuvée du Loup" 2006. Elevage in casks. 50% Rolle/Clairette. The malolactic fermentation is blocked with SO2 for whites, except for the millesime of this cuvée because it "escaped" and the malo went through. Very delicate wine. Buttery side too. 12,5 Euro.
__3 Jas D'Esclans Cru Classé Cotes de Provence Rosé 2006. 40% Grenache, 25% Cinsault, 20% Tibourenc, 15% Syrah. The balance of the blend can change depending of the millesime but the Grenache's share stays high because it brings nice things in the rosé. Fruity and freshness. 6,75 Euro
__4 Jas D'Esclans Cru Classé Cotes de Provence rosé "Cuvée du Loup" 2006. 85% Grenache, 15% Syrah and cold maceration. Nice mouth indeed, the wine lasts quite some time. 7 medals in different Wine Competitions. 7,5 Euro.
__5 Jas D'Esclans Cru Classé Cotes de Provence red (tradition) 2006. 80% Grenache-20% Syrah. All reds go through the malolactic fermentation. Nose : Eucalyptus, balsamic notes. Vinified in vats , with a 15-day maceration. Liquorice notes in the mouth. 6,75 Euro.
__6 Jas D'Esclans Cru Classé Cotes de Provence red "Coup de Foudres" 2003. This is their first millesime (they arrived here in 2002). 2/half years in foudres. Mostly Grenache with a tiny percentage of Syrah. Animal notes, beautiful wine. That's one of the wines that took our attention in the tasting a few months ago. Only 7,85 Euro, a steal.
__7 Jas D'Esclans Cru Classé Cotes de Provence red "Cuvée du Loup" 2005. 75% Syrah, 25% Mourvèdre. One year in casks (1/3 new, 1/3 one-wine, 1/3 two-wines). Jamy-fruits. Length and complexity. Balanced and powerful at the same time. 12,5 Euro. One thing I liked in their tasting room is that the reds are stored in a separate wine refrigerator (Climadiff refrigerators), at 18° C, the whites and rosés being stored in a cooler temperature.
Jas D'Esclans wines are mostly sold (50%) to individual customers, 35% to what is called CHR by french professionals (cavistes-hotels-restaurants), and 15% for export. US : Metropolis ; Japan : Belluna Co Limited. All the wines here are "Crus Classés" and this is one of the few places were you can buy organicly-farmed Cru Classé wines in bag-in-box (at the estate) or even in bulk (white :3,05 Euro/liter, rosé: 2,9 Euro/liter, red: 2,70 Euro/liter).
The De Wulf have 4 children, aged 61/2 to 12. Jas D'EsclansRoute de Callas 83920 La MottePhone +334 98 10 29 29Fax +334 98 10 29 28 mdewulf@terre-net.frwww.jasdesclans.com.La Motte's Mairie (City Hall) and its Hollow Plane-Tree...

Comments

[Gloria]

Only want to say loveling pictures!!! I love the pictures you have, and I like the wine's comments, but this picture of France is a dream. Really Gloria

[C Weere]

Yes, came across the vineyard in 2006, I will be there later this year 2008, and hope to buy more of their excellent wine. Maybe I will do what the locals do, turn up with a large glass conatiner and fill up for a fraction of the cost of buying in bottles. All of the wines are excellent, do yourself a favour and avoid buying from the supermarket or from your local off license, mak the ffort to visit this vineyard, one of the very few Cru Classe Vineyards in the Provance

[pascal sassaro]

lovely pictures