Simon Bertschinger explaining his wines and sharing his passion for them
It’s always good to discover new wine domaines in the area and Mas Sibert was recommended to me by Dominic George at Le Wine Shop in Pézenas, well worth a visit in itself incidentally.
Mas Sibert is in Fos, a 3 ha domaine run by Simon Bertschinger and Sara Frémine. They produce natural wines (with tiny amounts of SO2 added before bottling) with clear freshness, terroir and complexity. They are clean, well made and use unusual grapes for the region such as Merlot, Petit Verdot and Sangiovese, hence they are bottled as Vin De France.
The wines, the rosé is already sold out
They also have a bread oven and in summer they make bread and pizzas on Sundays, something I shall definitely be looking to profit from. A domaine to follow as Simon’s work in the vineyards will continue to enrich the wines. He is looking to plant new white grapes (from older cépages) and they will take time to come on stream but I look forward to trying them. Simon used the word ‘passion’ many times in describing his work and wines and it shows in the glass. He is also realistic, has not tried to overmake the wines but lets the terroir and it’s grapes speak for themselves. He has built the cave so that gravity helps the movement of the wine during production rather than pumping.
A very interesting display in the cave showing the soils and natural treatments using plant teas eg nettles, horse tail and ferns
The barrels used for Soléno have been used for 4 or 5 wines before so are used for a little oxidation and complexity rather than oak flavours
I tasted 3 reds:
Armélot 2013 Merlot, Syrah, Petit Verdot – Clean, fresh, rich and smooth but the Syrah adds nice spicy notes.
Fosénot 2013 Syrah, Sangiovese, Merlot, Petit Verdot – The Syrah shines with clear fruit but it is the Sangiovese which adds the interesting acidity and fresh cherry flavours. Very good, my personal favourite.
Soléno 2013 Merlot, Petit Verdot, Syrah. More Petit Verdot here than Armélot, the Bordeaux varieties get some oak ageing in old barrels for complexity. It had a light colour and structure but carries a real weight. Good and will develop with time.
Did I like them? Well I bought some so yes I did!
It actually snowed in Fos, hence the coat. I enjoyed talking with Simon as well as tasting his wines
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