ANGEL PIGASSOU
Minervois P.D.O. & Minervois - La Livinère P.D.O.
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Young yet old at the same time, the estate Angel Pigassou in Siran (Hérault), is a tight vineyard of twelve hectares, cultivated with care to bring the very best out of the grapes, and produce a wine for your pleasure.
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Our history
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On February 11, 1744 Jean-Baptiste Pigassou, the youngest of an old Haut-Minervois family whose lands in Combeliaubert were listed in the first land register of Saint-Pons de Thomières in the name of his ancestor Bernard Pigassou born three centuries before about 1455, married Marie Fabre and settled in Siran, founding the present vineyard.
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Since that date his descendants, whilst also exercising many other professions, always monitored closely their vines, entrusting them to the skilled hands of winemaking professionals, and in the last twenty years also with an established record of success.
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Recently, the estate management was directly taken over by their owners, to produce and vinify. The name of Angel, a popular first name on the maternal side, has been added as a wink to both sides of the long family history.
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Our land
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The twelve hectares of vines are divided into three large areas: one on the hillside, two in the plain, with about three fifths under the Minervois designation, and two fifths under the Minervois-La Livinière designation.
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For each of these two designations the grape variety is the same, 80% Syrah, 20% Black Grenache.
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The planting density is at least 4 000 vines per hectare, for yields not exceeding 48 hl/ha for the first designation, and 42 hl/ha for the second.
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Our culture
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Our way of growing vines is the product of our history : respect for the soil and the plant.
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With regard to the soil, respect lays first and foremost on regular rotation of the soil itself to provide it with natural resources and to encourage the vines to develop in accordance with its own character. In order to protect the soil from erosion, strengthen its resistance to the passage of the machinery, and favour biodiversity, it is covered by grass every other row. Eliminating excessive water in case of heavy rainfall is also closely engineered by a tight control of water paths, drains and ditches.
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As for the vine, it is cared for as soon as it is planted with an appropriate choice of quality varieties, low productive, thereby reducing the production load. When the vines begin to develop, particular attention is paid to the pruning system, Cordon de Royat for the syrah, allowing the grapes to aerate. In the same way, the importance of the leaf surface, the sometimes manual elimination of certain weeds are all practices implemented to let the vine do its work naturally, and then vinify the wine without anything artificial.
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