Domaine de l'Agramante

On our last mission to France in early 2020 (before you know what), we met one the loveliest and happiest of people, and definitely one true passionate winemaker. His name is Carlo la Rocca and we caught him right at the beginning of his journey: 2019 was only his second solo vintage.

Carlo is a Sicilian by birth and left a successful career as a petrochemical engineer in favour of the rabbit hole that is wine. He studied in Turin and Beaune before heading to Lyon, where he met his wife and decided to settle. By chance, we met Carlo through our friends at Mas du Libian, where he was working while establishing his small Domaine down the road in Sabran. His vines are at 250 metres altitude above Orange, in the foothills of the Cévennes mountains amongst patches of scented scrub and wildflowers. Carlo had been looking at vineyards in the Languedoc, but nothing he saw promised the freshness, liveliness and lift that he eventually found from the cooler, windswept rocky/sandy terraces of Sabran.

L'Agramente organically farms under five hectares of pre-established bush vines covering Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah, and a high proportion of Counoise. Certification is already underway. He eschews the use of pesticides or herbicides and uses green manures for soil nutrition. Yields are in the 30-40 hl/ha range (low for Côtes-du-Rhône), the vines are goblet-trained with disbudding and leaf thinning, and the harvest is strict and meticulously sorted in the vineyard (it is important to Carlo to vet healthy grapes early to reduce to the need for added sulphites).

A new cellar should be ready for the upcoming harvest (2021). Until now, the wines have been vinified 30kms away across the Ardèche border at Mas de Libian—with all the benefits that entails! Indeed, Carlo is at pains to stress how much the Thibon family have supported his journey. Clearly now part of the family, he credits them with reassurance and advice throughout his journey.

Brightness, liveliness and perfume can be qualities hard to come by in the Côtes-du-Rhône, yet that’s exactly what we love about these wines. The M’arricriu is a delicious wee slurper—light and bright in feel— while the Ciaülá packs more weight and depth, sinking into the middle palate.