Surface area 30 ha.
Natural since 2007

About the winemaker
Domaine de Majas is located near the village of Caudiès-de-Fenouillèdes, deep inland in the mountainous southern Roussillon. Founded in 1992 by Alain Carrère and his wife Agnès, the estate spent its early years making wine for a supermarket chain. Bound by an exclusivity contract, they had little say in how the wines were made or what they should taste like; the supermarket dictated everything. This meant heavy intervention in the cellar, producing budget-friendly wines to fit a predetermined profile hardly the dream of an artisan winemaker. As financial pressures mounted and the joy of winemaking faded, Alain and Agnès began to question their path in wine.

That turning point brought them to friend and fellow European natural wine producer, Tom Lubbe of Matassa. They turned to Tom for help, and together decided to embark on a new chapter: making wine side by side. Tom agreed to help reshape their winemaking, on the condition that Alain and Agnès would convert their vineyards to organics and embrace a low-intervention approach.

About the vineyard
Today, Domaine de Majas encompasses around 30 hectares of vines, all more than 30 years old some dating back as far as 120 years. The majority of the estate is planted with local varieties: Carignan Blanc and Noir, Macabeu, and Grenache, with smaller plantings of Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Rolle. The vineyards are managed as true organic vineyards, a reflection of the couple’s commitment to sustainable viticulture.

About the wines
So it was decided, and so it’s done: with Tom Lubbe’s help, Alain has transformed the wines into authentic reflections of their remarkable region and native grape varieties. Spontaneous fermentation and a strict absence of chemical additives are now at the core of their process. The only addition is a homeopathic touch of sulphur at bottling, and even that is reduced every year. Fermentation and ageing take place exclusively in old wood, cement, or stainless steel, further emphasizing a low-intervention philosophy.

These are unmistakably Roussillon wines full of vibrant ripe fruit, floral notes, and layers of dried herbs yet they never cross into being overly “warm” or heavy. They are pure, balanced, and honest expressions of the land. As a bonus, their approach as a small-scale winery allows the wines to remain attractively priced.

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