"Passion, panache and greatness"
The passion of the winemakers, the panache of the winegrowers and the greatness of the terroir is what makes the fine red and white Côtes de Gascogne wines at the Cassaigne estate so outstanding.
In 1999, the Condom cooperative cellar took over the estate’s vineyards and joined forces with the Plaimont producers union. 30 hectares of vines – currently operated by six families of winegrowers – were restructured to produce high-end wines:
- 13.5 hectares were replanted with red grape varieties, including Merlot, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon;
- 16.5 hectares were replanted with white grape varieties, including Colombard and Gros Manseng.
Winegrowers agreed to respect very stringent specifications in order to produce fine wines. They all adhered to this “made-to-measure” viticulture. Ten years later, they presented their first cuvée: red Domaine de Cassaigne. Four years later, they released their first Domaine de Cassaigne white wine.
A few words from the winegrowers
« Along with my brother, Philippe Larrey, and husband, Jean-Louis Antoniazzi, we were among the first winegrowers to take up the challenge in the Cassaigne vineyards. As members of the Condom cooperative cellar by tradition – our parents were also winegrowers – we were thrilled at the idea of restoring this estate.
Our story began in 2003 on 8 hectares of vines. The first step was to uproot the old vines and replace them with adapted grape varieties. The guidelines were very clear: to produce a Côtes de Gascogne first wine. We needed to learn to adapt our viticultural methods, start using bud pruning which, until then, was rare in the region, introduce Manseng Noir and reduce input products, all in accordance with HEV (High Environmental Value) standards…
After several years of hard work, I am proud to see the vines showcase the expertise of the Condom cooperative cellar. After a certain amount of trial-and-error, we managed to control yields to optimise aromas… Nowadays, the quality is there, and what a tremendous reward this is!
The six winegrowers at Cassaigne respect the same production specifications. However, each of them has a made-to-measure approach depending on the grape varieties grown. Only four of us make red wines. For our part, we produce 50% red (first wine) and 50% white (Labyrinthe).
Fifteen years later, we have become very attached to these vines, which have really driven us to move forward and improve our practices. The work we have carried out has not been in vain and the results are now paying off ! »
Stéphanie Antoniazzi, winegrower