Truffières Expression
IGP Oc 2018
Château Milhau Lacugue is located North from the village of Puisserguier, West from Beziers. Between 88 and 205 m high, its vineyards receive a lot of wind, which makes for one of its main characters, major temperature differences.
As for many properties in this area, an old Roman villa can be found at its origin : Villa Emilio, Emilius’ farm, which stood on one of the Roman roads that ran around the Mediterranean.
Owned by the Order of the Hospitaliers in the Middle Ages, Milhau is a rest area on the way to Compostellla. Several corner stones on the Domain still bear the 8 branches star of the Order.
Sold as a Nation’s property after the French Revolution, the Estate will not be split until 1927. It will then take 40 years to put it back together. This is done from 1969 by the Lacugue family.
Terroir of Saint-Chinian. Red soil of clay and limestone.
Vines are 30 years old.
Cultivation method: reasoned cultivation that seeks to favour the life of the soil instead than feeding the vine as a priority. Tall trellising, ploughing with interception or scraper in the spring.
The Estate will be High Environmental Value rated in 2021.
The Estate will be High Environmental Value rated in 2021.
After checking the maturity curve , regular berry tasting, the grapes are harvested mechanically, ginned at picking, transported in trailer, yeasted when arriving at the cellar and crushed as the wine is put into the vat.
The fermentation temperature is controlled to regulate the fermentation kinetics during the whole maceration period.
Re-assemblies, delestage and return by percolation allow a gentle extraction.
Draining after four weeks of fermentation.
Maturing method: only free-run wine is selected, racking and aeration
stabilize the colour before malolactic fermentation. Then air racking, sulphiting at 5 gr/hl and maturing in stainless steel tanks.
Decant before drinking, at 18 – 19°C.
Powerful, fruity, like an enological demonstration of Syrah typicity.