Domaine de Baron'arques

Domaine de Baron’arques is a vineyard and winery located in Saint-Polycarpe, in the Aude department of the Languedoc-Rousillon region. It is part of the AOC Limoux. It was purchased by the Baronness Phillipine de Rothschild and her two sons in December 1998, and has been extensively renovated, producing their first vintage in 2003.

The Chateau

History

The Domaine de Baron’arques was originally the property of the Abbey of St. Polycarpe. After the French Revolution, it changed hands several times under the name of Domaine de Lambert, eventually belonging to Mr. Michel Tisseyre. At this point it was both a farm and a small vineyard. He began to grow more vines until he passed it on to his son, Guyonet. Guyonet Tisseyre was responsible for building the chateau on the property, from 1890 to 1900, engraving both his initials and a Bacchus head on the façade of the new chateau.

The Domaine de Baron’arques was purchased by the Baronness Phillipine de Rothschild and her two sons in December 1998. The Rothschild team pulled up 31 hectares out of 36 of the vines, did a through soil analysis, and replanted the vines according to the soils that best suited them. They updated the production tools, as well as the first floor of the chateau ^[1]

The Vineyards

Terroir

There are six grape varietals planted at the Domaine; three Atlantic varieties (Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc) and three Mediterranean varieties (Syrah, Grenache and Malbec). Recently, the team at the Domaine has created a chardonnay as well.

There are four separate climates that influence the vineyards at the Domaine. There is the terroir d’Autan, providing a warm and humid climate, the terroir Méditerranean, providing a warm and dry climate, the oceanic climate coming from the Atlantic, and the terroir Haut-Vallée, a combination of the 3 previous terroirs.

The soil at the Domaine is mostly chalky clay, with portions of gravely, sandy soil on other parcels. The elevation if the Domaine is between 250 and 350 meters above sea level.

The Domaine hand-picks its grapes in 12 kilogram boxes to keep them whole throughout the process, just as they do at Mouton-Rothschild, Opus One and Almaviva. The Domaine has 23 stainless steel tanks in its cuvier, allowing for separate vinification of all of the varietals and the different parcels. ^[2]

The Wines

Today, the Domaine de Baron’arques produces three different wines: Domaine de Baron’Arques, La Capitelle de Domaine de Baron’arques and Le Chardonnay Domaine de Baron’arques. The earliest vintage of the signature wine is 2003 and has been produced every year since then. La Capitelle was added in 2008, and Le Chardonnay in 2009. The AOC Limoux requires that the wine be composed of at least 45 percent Merlot, blended with two Mediterranean grape varieties, but the wines of the Domaine de Baron’arques usually have five or six varietals.

References

1. ^ "History". The Wines of BPDR. http://www.bpdr.com/. Retrieved 13 September 2011. 
2. ^ Dupuy, Thierry. "Limoux. Domaine Baron'arques progresse de 30%". LaDepeche.com. La Depeche. http://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2007/10/16/61345-Limoux-Domaine-Baron-Arques-progresse-de-30.html. Retrieved 13 September 2011.