Barely twenty years old, Emilie and Brice took on a serious, 27 ha project of abandoned vines. In their first year, 2003, they had a vintage, and have been refining ever since - slowing down, paring back, intervening less. They've cut down to 15 ha, hundreds of olive trees are also being planted and all the vineyards have been converted to biodynamic agriculture.
Manual work is the priority and the sheep work during the winter.

Terroir and beliefs...
In 2002, when Emilie and Brice Bolognini were barely over 20 years old, they decided to take over the Mas Mellet estate in Gallician in the Gard. At the time it consisted of 27 hectares of abandoned vines. Regardless of the work to be done, the first vintage arrived in 2003. Very quickly, the evidence of working organically led the couple to reduce the cultivated land to now have 16 hectares in production. In the vineyards, manual
labor takes precedence and the sheep work during the winter. Certification arrives in 2007. For these Gardois, wine is a true vocation and a passion thanks to which everyone expresses themselves both in the vineyards, in the
cellar and at the administrative level. 
“Sometimes, everyone makes their own vintage according to their current sensitivity.”
 
Over time, the desire to intervene as little as possible in all stages of the process has become established in the domain. From now on, viticulture is conducted biodynamically where we rely on lunar calendars and plant-based preparations. Sulfur is rare...Emilie talks about “growing the grapes in the best possible conditions” while Brice
defines himself more as a guide, “basically it’s the terroir that decides and we follow”! This terroir that they love so much and which guides them is that of Costières de Nîmes, the southernmost of the appellation. Made up of sandstone and gapans (red clay), hilly, it is located in a windy corridor which protects it from diseases. And its proximity to the Camargue ponds, visible from the estate, and the Mediterranean Sea, gives its wines a welcome freshness and beautiful saline notes. This is where the entire terroir of Mas Mellet is expressed…
Red 2021 AOC Costières de Nîmes AB certification Grape varieties and terroir Grenache 40%, Syrah 40% and Carignan 10% from plots planted on the slopes of the dome and are chosen for the aromatic expression of the fruits they bear. In the cellar Harvested and sorted manually at aromatic maturity. Total destemming. Sulfur-free winemaking. Native yeasts. Extraction using gentle work. Controlled fermentation temperature. Maceration 5 to 7 days max. Concrete breeding. Bottling March 2020. Addition of 15 mg/l so2.

Tasting Notes:
WINEMAKER'S NOTES:  ​Tasting Aromas of black and red fruits, notes of garrigue and sweet spices and a nice balance for this nice strong guy.

Food Suggestions:
Wines from the Rhône and Languedoc-Roussillon are good for more robust lamb dishes such as braised lamb shanks, Moroccan tagines or other spicy stews and casseroles - even milder lamb curries.