C.U.V.E. (Comité Urbain de Vinification Expérimental) - CUVE
We have been living for 6 years (like Nathalie Cornec) in Marseille, in a small semi-buried cellar in the heart of a former convent of nuns in the Belle de Mai district.
We started out on our own, with the desire to drink something else, something other than industrial wine served wherever we went, wherever we celebrated. Our idea was to water small places with 100% natural juice, so we decided to make inexpensive cubis to support the social, political and cultural places of the city and bottles to pay our rent. It was our friend Matthieu L’hôtelier who taught us the basics and, above all, started, then Les Maoû welcomed us for our first vintage!
We started by offering our arms in exchange for grapes before buying any.
Now we get our grapes from the estates of friends, La Cabrery, Les Tuiles Bleues etc ... Especially in the Lubéron and the Pyrénées Orientales. And we sometimes glean in late harvests.
Regarding the vinification, the grapes ferment mainly in 10hL vats, Dame Jeanne and an acacia barrel. A splendid vertical ratchet press is used. No chemicals in the cellar, all cleaning is done with overhead alcohol from distillation.
Le Rouge, infusion of a whole bunch of Merlot in a direct pressing of Grenache for 5 days with daily extraction.
Le Rougé, direct press of Syrah, Ugni blanc and Grenache de-vatted for 7 days in carbohydrate.