Domaine Danjou-Banessy
Espira de l’Agly, Côtes Catalanes, France
Sébastien & Benoit Danjou
The Danjou brothers are on a mission to put their hometown of Espira de l'Agly on the map, producing fine wines with a freshness rarely seen in the South. Benoit & Sebastien both have the vision and the drive to see beyond what is possible in their vineyards.
"Farming: totally insane. It goes beyond biodynamics which they have come to the conclusion is not totally adapted to the south…but the work is heroic and Herculean. The terroir itself is very mixed. There's a lot schist, including a very decomposed black schist which results in soil the color of tar. There are all kinds of other schist, plus sandstone/limestone (argilo-greso-calcaire.) And there are galets roulés.
The reds are just so, so elegant, pure, precise. All in older barrels and there is a little of an Italian feel there, or a Lafarge one. There's a Rayas influence for sure (they worship Rayas), and it reminds me maybe not of Rayas but at least Fonsalette. The other reds are increasingly brilliant. But that first one is incredible value. The whites are equally great, however, they're a little deeper. It’s the weight of the varieties themselves (Carignan Blanc and Gris, Grenache Gris) and the reductive aging. Burgundy is definitely on their mind. There is a Carignan Gris that could have fooled me for Meursault. I told them so.
- Paul Wasserman
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In the 1950s, Benoit and Sébastien Danjou’s grandfather had bought further vineyards and created a “library” of rancios. Benoit worked alongside his grandfather until they produced their final vintage together in 2000. The estate was passed down after a generation leap from their grandfather. and now with his brother Sébastien by his side, he gradually converted the estate to dry white and red wines, while wisely preserving magnificent old Rivesaltes.
They work on fifteen hectares of fragmented vines between 15 and 120 years old. They also maintain 22 ha of forests, moors and fallow land all around the vines. Their game plan is to protect their family’s 100 year + Grenache and Carignan vines grown on black schist soils (les terres noires) while developing the magical Clos des Escounils, a remote plot on the farther reach of the village with nearly abandoned Grenache Blanc, Noir and Gris vines surrounded by scrubby forest and stone wall. An ambitious undertaking but they’re building for the next generation.
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Located in the town of Espira de l'Agly, at the start of the Agly valley, north of the city of Perpignan, in the department of Pyrénées Orientales, geologically between the collapse of the Pyrenees and the birth of the Corbières. The terroir itself is very mixed. There's a lot schist, including a very decomposed back schist which results in soil the color of tar. There are all kinds of other schist, plus sandstone/limestone (argilo-greso-calcaire.) And there are galets roulés.
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“The vineyard is made up of a wide variety of soils, which is why we carry out plot work on different islets: schist, sandstone, clay-limestone, limestone, quartz, pure clay, sand, silt. Our goal is to enrich the soil before working vegetal (vine, tree, vegetable, etc.) . That is not why we practice all the techniques of ancient and modern agroecological (biodynamics, agroforestry, direct seeding, etc. ).
Each cuvée represents for us a plot, a soil, a locality, an atmosphere, a way of working, a certain atmosphere and also a part of ourselves , this is what we try to convey through our bottles.” - Benoit Danjou
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“All the grapes are harvested by hand in boxes of 20Kg. Concerning the vinification, we ferment all our wines under infusion, that is to say without the classic extraction processes , we do not practice punching down or shedding but simply a delicate crushing and wetting of the harvest with its own juice.
For aging, each wine is matured in barrels (tuns, demi-muids, barrels, etc.). The duration of the aging varies depending on the vintage of 1 to 5 years. Bottling is carried out by gravity and in the lunar phase.” - Benoit Danjou
Wines
Supernova
100% Muscat of Alexandria; vines are over 70 years old; grown on 1.5 hectares of slate soil - “Les Terres Noires” Vinification: Indigenous yeasts, infusion of whole (slightly crushed) grapes for one month. No chaptalization, no acidification. Aged in oak barrels for 10 to 12 months. No fining, no filtration, bottling by gravity corresponding to the phases of the moon.
Coste - Cotes Catalanes Blanc
100% Maccabeu; vines over 30 years old grown on 3 hectares of large stones (gallets roulés) over a clay-limestone base. Vinification: Directly pressed, fermentation without chaptalization, or acidification. Aged in neutral oak barrels for 10 months. No fining, no filtration, bottling by gravity corresponding to the phases of the moon.
Clos des Escounils
A vineyard blend of Grenache blanc, gris and noir; vines over 100 years old grown on 1 hectate on limestone and sandstone. Vinification: Indigenous yeasts, no chaptalization, no acidification Aging in wooden tank for two years. No fining, no filtration, bottled by gravity corresponding to the phases of the moon
La Truffiere - Cotes Catalanes Blanc
100% Carignan Gris from 95 year old vines grown on schist, surrounded by a truffle field. Fermentation and aging in old Burgundy barrels between 15-20 months. Unfined, unfiltered.
Roboul - Cotes Catalanes Rouge
Mourvèdre & Grenache noir blend; vines around 30 years old grown on 4 hectares on large stones (gallets roulés) over a clay-limestone base. Vinification: Indigenous yeasts, infusion of slightly-crushed whole clusters, no chaptalization, no acidification. Aging in oak barrels from 10 to 12 months. No fining, no filtration, bottled by gravity corresponding to the phase of the moon
La Truffiere - Cotes Catalanes Rouge
Blend of Carignan noir & Grenache noir; 80-60 years old vines grown on 2 hectares of slate soil “Les Terres Noires” Vinification: Indigenous yeasts, infusion of slightly-crushed whole clusters, no chaptalization or acidification Aging in oak barrels for twenty months. No fining, no filtration, bottled by gravity corresponding to the phases of the moon.
Les Myrs - Cotes Catalanes Rouge
100% Carignan noir; vines over 90 years old grown on 1 hectare of slate soil “Les Terres Noires.” Seb Danjou feels Carignan is part of the estate’s DNA - part of their history and what they’re headed in the future. Vinification: 100% de-stemmed, maceration by infusion, fermentation with indigenous yeasts. No chaptalization, no acidification. Aging in oak barrels for 20 months. No fining, no filtration, bottled by gravity corresponding to the phases of the moon.
Roboul - Cotes Catalanes Rouge
Blend of Mourvèdre & Grenache; 30-year-old plot on clay-limestone soil of rolled pebbles, located on the Agly terraces. Aging in barrels for 12 months.
Les Mirandes - Cotes Catalanes Rouge
Single parcel of Syrah on the field of volcanic rock 20 years older, located in the town of Sote-Mirande. Aging for 2 to 3 years in barrels depending on the vintage.
Espurna - Cotes Catalanes Rouge
100% Cinsault on schist and quartz. Centennial plot located in “les terres noires.” Aging for 2 to 4 years in barrels depending on the vintage and bottle caving.
Estaca - Cotes du Roussillon Rouge
100% Grenache noir on schist. The oldest plot of the estate (over 120 years old) is located in “les terres noires.”. Aging for 2 to 5 years in barrels depending on the vintage and bottle caving. Only 600 bottles produced.