Description
The Comelade estate is located 20 km west of Perpignan, in the heart of the Agly valley. It was created in 1986 by Lionel Comelade and covers 40 hectares of vines, swept by the Tramontane (wind from the North), and the hot weather. Lionel is the fifth generation of winemakers, and grew up in the vineyard with his father and grand fathers.
Passion for wine and respect for tradition, Lionel develops his wines, from a terroir of character, to the fragmented lands and rich in diversity, which influence the quality of the wines produced. The terroirs are composed of black and white schists (which capture heat) and clay-limestone (red and stony earth that holds moisture), for Syrahs and Carignans. The harvest is 80% manual. The estate vinifies about 1500 hectoliters in concrete vats, cooled to avoid high temperatures. Carignans and Syrahs are vinified by carbonic maceration to extract the color and the fruit.
The dry white wines are vinified in barrels of 2 and 3 wines for 8 to 10 months, with stirring to raise the lees to give the wine this mineral side, thanks to the shale terroir. The red wines are vinified in vats, some Syrahs in new barrels as well as in barrels of 2 and 3 wines. The natural sweet wines are pressed directly and kept cold, then yeasted to accentuate the fermentation and then mutated by the addition of alcohol.
