Introducing DOMAINE DES MASQUES

The vineyards of Domaine des Masques stand-alone, totemic, singled out from the rest of Provence by their unique site on the iconic limestone plateau beneath Montagne Sainte-Victoire, a Natura 2000 preserve and a Grand site de France. This mountain has been a deeply symbolic and magical place in the French imagination for centuries. I remember studying Paul Cézanne in my French art history class way back when and learning how in his late years he moved home from Paris to Aix-en-Provence, just 15km west of this storied summit, and became obsessed with it. He painted the mountain over and over again for the rest of his life. And it makes sense, this peak is a bewitching sight to behold.

It was that same magnetic fascination that led to the planting of Domaine des Masques after the great fire of 1989. Carl & Sophie Mestdagh purchased the vineyards in 2003 with the belief that they could become iconic. At that time, the estate consisted of a small farmhouse and 5 hectares of vines. They invested their passion and resources into increasing the planting to 20 hectares and modernizing the cellars, partnering with Northern Rhône wine legend Yves Cuilleron and the Provence wunderkind Yannick Burles, a vigneron whose family has farmed in the shadow of Sainte-Victoire for over 200 years. As a team, they’ve taken on this monumental vision.

The Domaine’s name is the skeleton key that unlocks that vision. The Masques (or Masquo in the local dialect) were folkloric sorcerers and witches believed to live furtively on this plateau. These beliefs were maintained by locals right up to the early 20th century. The Masques were said to live in this inaccessible woodland because it was so richly adorned in the garrigue herbs needed for both medicines and magical potions.

Carl & Sophie Mestdagh knew what most Rhône wine fanatics know: that these garrigue herbs also do wonders for the wines grown among them. Moreover, dense biodiversity develops resilience in vines. Combine this with the soaring elevation of the plateau, the wind-cooled microclimate, and the limestone rich soils, and you have the mise en place for growing magical potions of the grape-based persuasion!

Not only does Mt. Sainte-Victoire deprive the plateau of Provence’s typical Mediterranean warmth but it also captures and accelerates cooling winds off the Massif. Combine this with the heady 500m elevation and you have vineyards where ripening will be perfectly bridled, allowing for longer hang-times and phenolic maturation while maintaining a tensile acidity in the fruit.

For the grower of fine wine, the soils here could not be more inviting. The surface is composed of fast-draining hard grey limestones from the Lutetian period of the Eocene, more or less decomposed into scree and clays. The vines’ roots quickly reach the bedrock below the soil and force their way into the pores, creating long-lived carbohydrate-rich structures below the soil that check yields and promise longevity.

Altogether, these well-known elements of promising terroir remained unused for all these centuries, no doubt due to the remote plateau’s cliff encompassed isolation. It is a reminder that all of the most famous and highly regarded areas for wine farming were once as virgin to vines as this plateau. Perhaps if the Plateau wasn’t so forbidding to access it too would have been planted with vines in the earliest years of Roman conquest or during medieval Monastic settlement and today it would be as canonized and celebrated as so many others.

For all these reasons, it is crucial to both identify and distinguish Domaine des Masques from its home in Provence. While on the one hand they’re situated on the most iconic natural feature of the region and Yannick Burles is deeply entrenched in Provençal history and culture and winemaking, on the other hand the Estate’s micro-climate allows for the growth of tensile and unique wines quite unlike the expressions we normally expect from this warm, Mediterranean nook of France. These wines are bold and serious and have an independent attitude about them, content in their frank assertions, showing a wind-swept tension and a certain conviction that speaks to the adventuring nature of this entire project.

Alberta CSPC/SKU #871173

2021 Essentielle Blanc

IGP Méditerranée

A fresh and crisp white aromas of honeydew and cantaloupe leading into crunchy anjou pear and macintosh apple. After hand harvesting at night in late September and early October the fruit is brought to the winery where it is kept cool while destemmed, pressed, and transferred to stainless steel with inert gases to prevent oxidation and avoid any addition of sulphites until the time of bottling. The must is cold stabilized for 10 days before the juice is brought to 15 to 17°C for a careful, temperature controlled fermentation. This is a clean and crystal clear window into this unique terroir, delicious and welcoming.

• Varietal/Blend: 97% Chardonnay, 3% Viognier
• Fermentation: Each variety individually pressed and fermented. The fruit is kept cool, destemmed, pressed, and transferred to stainless steel with inert gases to prevent oxidation and avoid any addition of sulphites until time of bottling. The must is cold stabilized for 10 days before the juice is brought to 15 to 17°C for fermentation.
• Ageing: Aged three to nine months in stainless steel. Gently filtered at time of bottling.
• Vineyard & Vine Age: Organic estate vineyards. Harvested at night and in the early morning. The proximity of these parcels to the cellars and transport being in small vibrating bins allow optimal respect for the fruit. In 2020 the harvest of the parcels concerned was spread out between September 17 and October 5.
• ABV: 13.5% 

Alberta CSPC/SKU #871174

2021 Essentielle Rosé

IGP Méditerranée

An "all-terrain" rosé, its blend allows it to be as comfortable as an aperitif as it is with a wide variety of dishes. Indeed, it is already a terroir rosé, complex, mineral and slightly structured, with a great digestibility.

• Varietal/Blend: 60% Grenache, 40% Syrah
• Fermentation: Each variety individually pressed and fermented. The fruit is kept cool, destemmed, pressed, and transferred to stainless steel with inert gases to prevent oxidation and avoid any addition of sulphites until time of bottling. The must is cold stabilized for 14 days before the juice is brought to 15 to 17°C for fermentation.
• Ageing: Aged three to nine months in stainless steel. Gently filtered at time of bottling.
• Vineyard & Vine Age:  Organic estate vineyards. Harvested at night and in the early morning. The proximity of these parcels to the cellars and transport being in small vibrating bins allow optimal respect for the fruit. In 2020 the harvest of the parcels concerned was spread out between September 17 and October 5.
• ABV: 13%

Alberta CSPC/SKU #871175

2020 Essentielle Rouge 

IGP Méditerranée

Gourmet, with velvety tannins and refreshing freshness, this early red wine gives pride of place to the floral and fruity aromas of our high-altitude Syrah. It is a perfect accompaniment to grilled meats, pizzas and mezzés.

• Varietal/Blend: 100% Syrah
• Fermentation: Hand picked fruit was destemmed, crushed, and cold-macerated for ten days without any added sulphites. Gentle remontage.
• Ageing: Aged one year in stainless steel. Several rackings were carried out before bottling, which took place in three stages between spring and summer 2021.
• Vineyard & Vine Age:  Organic estate vineyards. Harvested at night and in the early morning. The proximity of these parcels to the cellars and transport being in small vibrating bins allow optimal respect for the fruit. In 2020 the harvest of the parcels concerned was spread out between September 17 and October 5.
• ABV: 13% 

Alberta CSPC/SKU #871176

2021 Carbonick

IGP Méditerranée

This is an odd duck because this wine is not only made without sulfites but is actually guaranteed sulfite free — as in none, zero, nil — all this proven by way of a lab analysis after fermentation. Intriguing! Being fermented semi-carbonic in the old-school Beaujolais fashion, this wine is light bodied with a big personality (and a huge versatility in food pairing). On the palate the juice goes from fruity to smoky, passing through peaty, hoppy, and kirsch-like along the way. A fun treat at wine night, an easy pleaser for natty wine bars, and a great pairing for pork dishes ranging from hotdogs to Vietnamese vermicelli bowls.

• Varietal/Blend: 88% Carignan, 12% Mourvèdre
• Fermentation: Fermented with indigenous yeast, whole cluster, with semi-carbonic maceration. After a few days, gentle punch downs and short remontage begin. Once pressed, the press juices finish their fermentation separately and are then blended after tasting.
• Ageing: Briefly aged in small stainless steel tanks to preserve the fruit, filtered and bottled early to ensure purity.
• Vineyard & Vine Age:  Organic. Hand harvested fruit from the family vineyards of Masques' technical director Yannick Burles, located in the neighboring commune of Pourrières in the Arc Valley. Carignan vines planted or grafted in 1959 by Yannick’s grandparents with all replacement to date being done with selection massale. (The age of the Mourvèdre vines is unknown).
• ABV: 12.5%

Alberta CSPC/SKU #871177

2019 Émotion Rouge

IGP Méditerranée

Not necessarily premeditated, this very "Medoc" blend imposed itself during our tastings, arousing emotion through the obvious complementarity of the grape varieties, a synergy of flavors that accomplished our search for finesse beyond all expectations!

• Varietal/Blend: 57% Merlot, 43% Cabernet-Sauvignon
• Fermentation: Destemmed and crushed. Short cold maceration. Daily pump overs. Juices left in vats for 5 weeks before racking to barriques for MLF and aging. Hand-harvested Syrah is destemmed and crushed. Cold pre-fermentation maceration for ten days. Fermentation with indigenous yeast in individual temperature controlled stainless steel vessels for each respective parcel. Regular punch downs. After pressing, the temperature is maintained around 20°C for a quick malolactic fermentation.
• Ageing: Aged in French oak barriques for 11 months before blending. Average age of oak is 6 years old with the majority of barrels having seen 3 or more vintages. Lightly filtered at time of bottling.
• Vineyard & Vine Age:  Organic. Hand harvested fruit from the family vineyards of Masques' technical director Yannick Burles, located in the neighboring commune of Pourrières in the Arc Valley. Cabernet Sauvignon planted in 2001 just under the Mas des Masques. Merlot planted in 1997 at Cabanon de Trouche. Merlot harvested September 15, Cabernet harvested October 14.
• ABV: 13.5% 

Alberta CSPC/SKU #871178

2019 Exception Syrah

IGP Méditerranée

Fullness and freshness are the hallmarks of this deep, dense red with velvety tannins. The aromatic range is wide, from black fruits, to spices and cocoa notes, through floral touches. For this cuvée, Burles & Cuilleron prefer the larger 600 litre French oak demi-muids (as opposed to 228 litre barriques) that have already seen 2-10 vintages. This allows a gentler maturation and frames in a gentler oak spice that does not interfere with the terroir expression of this fascinating plateau.

• Varietal/Blend: 100% Syrah
• Fermentation: Hand-harvested Syrah is destemmed and crushed. Cold pre-fermentation maceration for ten days. Fermentation with indigenous yeast in individual temperature controlled stainless steel vessels for each respective parcel. Gentle punch downs conducted regularly. After pressing, the temperature is maintained around 20°C for a quick malolactic fermentation.
• Ageing: Aged 15 months in 600 litre French oak demi-muids that have already seen 2-10 vintages.
• Vineyard & Vine Age:  Organic. South facing estate vineyards. Harvested at night and in the early morning. The proximity of these parcels to the cellars and transport being in small vibrating bins allow optimal respect for the fruit. In 2020 the harvest of the parcels concerned was spread out between September 17 and October 5.
• ABV: 14.5%
• Produced Cases: 9,800 bottles and 200 magnums