Viticulture at Domaine Houchart's
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Viticulture at Domaine Houchart's
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Because of the size of the domain, 50 hectares, it is possible to take advantages of a wide variety of soil types, with predominantly sandy, chalky soil and deeper beds of clay and silt. This allows adequate drainage of rainfall and ensures the vines are able to produce the best possible quality. More over, the terroir of this part of the Appellation Côtes de Provence has an historical reputation for the production of high quality wines with a great ageing potential. The Réserve is made from a blend of 50 % Grenache and 50 % Syrah. Syrah vines are located on chalky soils with a sandy texture and little water retention power. Grenache vines are planted on a plateau with very well-drained gravelly soil with little clay resurgence. The exposition of vines is North-South, the average is 30 years and there is a maximum of 4 000 plant per hectare. The Grenache vines are trained in the traditional "gobelet" fashion, and the Syrah vines are trained on wires and pruned by the cordon de Royat method. The harvest is done entirely by hand. Our Vin de Pays des Bouches du Rhône is a blend of 50% Syrah and 50% Cabernet Sauvignon. The soil is limestone and chalky. The culture is traditional and low mecanised.
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The grape varieties used are those traditional to Provence and
balanced to give the best possible results with ages of 30 to 50 years :
Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan and Mourvèdre for red
Côtes de Provence varieties and Clairette and Rolle for white and Cabernet
Sauvignon and Syrah vines for Vin de Pays.