The estate La Tour Vieille was born in 1982 in the heart of the village of Collioure. It was created by Vincent Cantié, then agronomist, from a few family vineyards and in the concern of preserving a true masterpiece: the terraced vineyard of the vintage Banyuls and Collioure endangered by the uncontrolled extension of the vineyard. tourism economy. A few years later, Christine Campadieu will join the adventure and bring some vines from her own family. Historically located in the city center, the cellar is now installed on the heights; where the tower, surrounded by its olive trees, overlooks the village and the Mediterranean. Under the sun of the Vermeille coast, the vineyard organized in terraces imposes a very reasoned and exclusively manual work, very close to that of our old ones. Indeed, the steep slope (ranging from 25 to 40% in places) and the nature of the very schistous soil force us to a specific architecture: feches (terraces in Catalan) delimited by dry stone walls, favoring the flow rainwater, sunshine and facilitating the work on foot. The production is articulated around 2 appellations: Collioure: dry wines that we produce in 3 colors. The 13ha exploited are located in the towns of Collioure, Port-Vendres and Banyuls. As is customary in the Catalan tradition, several grape varieties are used for the production of our wines and the co-planting of different varieties on the same plot is still relevant. If you do not see tractor or big gear in our vineyards this is not a sign of development delay or rejection of technical progress but simply the consequence of our terroir capricious and abrupt. The spirit, the human hand and good legs are still the irreplaceable work tools for working our vines. The Vermeille coast would not be what it is without the rugged relief of the foothills of the Albères massif rising from the Mediterranean, giving birth to a wild coastline. Planted at an average density of 5,000 to 6,000 vines / hectare and on hillsides, our plots enjoy an ideal exposure to sunshine and aeration of the vines. The predominant mode of conduct here is the cup, which is very suitable for erect varieties such as Grenache, Carignan and Macabeu because it has good ventilation, a large area of sunshine and shades the grapes. The very schistose soil of the Collioure / Banyuls appellation is one of the oldest viticultural soils in Europe and dates back to the primary era. The flush mother-in-law forces the vines to root deeply and allows them to draw on the soil's resources, especially water, which is so precious in summer. If we say that the vine produces good fruits in difficult survival conditions, we understand why, given the climate (hot, dry and very windy) ours are so complex! Planted on Collioure, Port-Vendres and Banyuls; at altitudes ranging from 2 to 220 meters above sea level, our vineyard of 13 ha is at the prime of life: 40 years on average! Grenache, is the "king" grape of Côte Vermeille, whether black, gray or white; it is the only one used to produce Banyuls. Secondary varieties such as Syrah, Mourvèdre, Carignan or Macabeu and Roussanne also have their place and allow to enrich the aromatic range of Collioure. In respect of our environment and thanks to a controlled culture, interventions in the vineyard are very limited and, although not claimed, correspond to the criteria of organic labels in the treatment strategy. Indeed, the low rainfall, sunshine and tramontane allow us to harvest healthy grapes without having to use synthetic treatment products. The harvest (manual, obviously) take place between the end of August and the middle of September. The diversity of grape varieties allows us to harvest over several weeks at the appropriate time following the maturity of each; the earliest being generally Grenache, Syrah; and the later carignan or mourvèdre. Vincent Cantie, founder and owner of the estate, comes from an old family of colliourencque anchovies and wine production is a secondary activity of his father's time. He decides to devote himself fully to it after a good study of agriculture and a few years outside our borders. Established for more than thirty years, La Tour Vieille enjoys a certain reputation today thanks to the involvement and regularity of the team. The production going from the vine to the marketing through the vinification, we are 6 people to harness us throughout the year: Thomas, Michel and John in the vineyard; Véronique at the office (for 20 years already); Clémence and Vincent at the cellar and at the sale. Of course, nothing is fixed: the life of the domain requires us to be versatile and complementary; It is therefore impossible to get bored or tired in an environment in perpetual evolution, punctuated by cycles of vine and wine.