"st.helier" > wrote in message
...
> Greybeard wrote ......
>
>> Usually I'm stay as a lurker here, but a question for the francophiles.
>>
>> Just completed an annual mixed case purchase of rose for summer,
>> ( 'is lordship St. H. territory). Usual purchase of Felines Jourdan and
>> Lascaux (languedoc) and came across a new producer that I decided to
>> try:
>>
>> Le Jarras, Domaine Listel, Vin de Pays des Sables du Golfe du Lion.
>>
>> OK I've found this is the coastal strip where the Herault fronts the
>> Med.
>> Known as the Camargue. Anybody able to flesh this out with more detail?
>> And, the grape varietal(s) is listed as "Grain de Gris". Can anyone
>> expand
>> on this, normal for the appellation?
>> Haven't opened one yet, so no TN.
>
>
> Hello bearded one - travelled through this area - just about eaten
> alive!
>
> Fascinating area - this is the Rhône delta - almost dead flat - famous for
> horses and red rice - and 40 species of mosquitoes which flourish in the
> salt
> marshes
>
> Home to one of the largest vineyard companies in France - Les Salins du
> Midi.
>
> Traditionally one of the largest salt producers in France. Les Salins du
> Midi has diversified by planting over 5,000 acres) of vineyards along the
> Rhône delta coast, from Sète (southwest of Montpellier) to the mouth of
> the
> Rhône.
>
> Established in 1883, they were one of the few vineyards that survived the
> Phylloxera fungus that decimated France in the late 1800's. It was the eco
> climate of the Camargue and the periodic flooding of salt marshes that
> prevented the fungus from being established on the Listel vines. Today
> Listel produces 80% of the Rose wines from the Camargue on their 5,000
> acre
> domain and is very proud that their vines do not have any American
> rootstock.
>
> The appellation "Vin de Pays des Sables du Golfe du Lion" includes a wide
> range of wines from the western Camargue. The largest vineyard is the
> Domaine de Jarras, located between Le Grau-du-Roi and Aigues-Mortes.
>
> Original titled 'Gris de Gris' wine, it is now styled 'Grain de Gris' the
> varieties used may be Grenache, Carignan and Cinsault.
>
I had a very pleasant wine in a restaurant in Tarascon last May - only 11
euros so not high-end but, néanmoins, enjoyable! I have lost my notes
(dammit) but it came from a small family operation run by a vigneronne and
her website mentions that she floods the pre-phylloxera vines every 2 years.
Graham