Local Paziols brothers Sébastian and Franck Agelet of Domaine de Mena (from nature in Catalan) and Clot 13 (each brother produces their own wine from the same domaine) are based in the Hautes Corbières, wedged between the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean. Seb and Franck grew up amongst their parents’ vines. Much like their father and grandfather before them they used to sell their entire production to the co-operative each year, until in 2012 Seb decided to experiment and with the guidance of a natural winemaker friend from the village, he made his first cuvée. Much to Seb’s surprise making wine turned out to be relatively easy when you start with good grapes. He likens winemaking to cooking. If you have excellent ingredients then the less you manipulate the better the result. This seems to sum up Sébastien’s winemaking style pretty well. The vast majority of the work is in the vines. Then, the wines more or less make themselves.
Since 2012 Sébastien has sold off parts of his family’s vineyard. He still sells some grapes to the co-op but for his own production he focuses on just 10ha of his very best plots, gnarled old bush vines, mostly indigenous varieties perfectly suited to this hot windy region. His plots are predominantly situated on and around the rocky clay and limestone hill called Le Pilou, protected on its perimeter by garrigue scrub and forest, it’s exposed to the fierce Tramuntana winds that bellow in off the Pyrenees, blowing away the humidity from the sea, acting as a natural prevention from diseases such as mildew and oidium. A few years back Seb’s brother Franck started his own project within the domaine (Clot 13) and we’re happy to bring both projects in together. Sébastian and Franck’s wines are reflections of this region which is pure, wild and dramatic. It’s a hot dry region and the wines are powerful, though they have a balance that comes with purity of fruit and a fresh light touch. In Seb’s own words the wines are made by nature.
