Corbières Minervois : An area of transition
 
 

 

There is an area where two mountain ranges meet : the Massif central and the Pyrenees. Like two grand ladies who are fiercely jealous of their geographic position, they spread out the folds of their mineral robes with nonchalance and originality. The Minervois and Corbières observe one another, both seeing in the other the reflection of their respective positions in the Piémont. They have two different origins and a history but which has often overlapped and merged in the past.

Built up against the Montagne Noire, the Minervois spreads itself like an amphitheatre between the low hills and slopes of vineyards. The Gorges of the Cesse and the Brian en Minervois are characteristic of the limestone landscape and have some amazing geological sites to reveal, for example the natural bridges of the Cesse at Minerve. In the centre, the River Aude and the Canal du Midi cross an area of low-lying plain. To the south, the Hautes Corbières are already part of the Pyrenean foothills : sloping vineyards tightly packed around the Mont Tauch, green meadows, beech and chestnut trees on the Massif de Mouthoumet and the forest on the Plateau de Lacamp. Bordered to the West by the stony barrier of the Alaric, the Corbières look over the sea to the East (Pic St Victor). Here, you have a succession of small plateaus scored by gorges : the waterfalls and the blue-green Marmites de Géants (Giants' cauldron), the Verdouble, Berre, Orbieu, Congoust, Terminet … all of which help to create a cool refreshing landscape.

The Galamus Gorges to the south and the Minerve Plateau to the North match each other in elegance and originality : small mountain ranges, isolated hills dotted with pinewoods and garrigue

Since prehistoric times

Man has lived in the hills, plains and caves of the Corbières and Minervois for a very long time : Prehistoric man from Tautavel (450 000 years ago) was the first to live under the Corbières sun. Vestiges of an ancient dwelling place going back 100 000 years have been found at Bize-Minervois. These men who were originally nomads then chose to settle permanently in the area. The Dolmen des Fades (of the fairies) at Pépieux (5000 BC) shows remarkably clearly the collective burial tombs of the first inhabitants in the Minervois

Corbières and Minervois : coveted territories

This territory appears for the first time in written history in 118 BC when Narbonne was founded and the Romans settled in the area. The territory was run efficiently and farms producing cereal crops and wine soon appeared in the region. Craftwork developed rapidly to become almost an industry as is demonstrated by the workshop at the Amphoralis Potters' Museum in Sallèles (1st century AD). So when the new Barbarian invaders arrived in the 5th Century, firstly the Visigoths then the Francs, it was to find a territory greatly influenced by Roman occupation.

Charlemagne, is traditionally recognised as being the founder and protector of many abbeys, for example at Lagrasse in the year 800. But it is a more widespread surge of religious fervour that lead to the building of great religious sites such as Caunes and Fontfroide. In the 10th century, Romanesque architecture was experimented for the first time on abbeys, priories, parish churches as well as little country chapels. Romanesque style towers sprouted up like strong, fine, white flowers. A network of the more influential villages in the region was set up with a common characteristic : they were all densely populated and built up round a church or castle. In the 12th century the unruly seigneurs welcomed the Cathar religion with great benevolence. The free choice of religion greatly annoyed Pope Innocent III who launched a crusade against the Albigensians in 1209. The powerful crusaders came from Northern Languedoc and swept over the region with devastating force. The attack on Minerve was to mark the beginning of a century of death and brutality right up to when the last Cathar parfait, Bellibaste was burnt at the stake at Villerouge-Termenès. In a few years, the King of France took control of the region. Carcassonne became a centre of military operations over a region which at the time had its border with the Kingdom of Aragon. The fortified city of Carcassonne was the 'mother' with five 'sons' : Aguilar, Termes, Peyrepertuse, Quéribus and Puilaurens which enforced royal rule and protected the inhabitants from Spanish invasion until the 17th century. The signing of the Treaty of the Pyrenees brought peace to the region in 1659.

A madly ambitious project : the construction of the Canal du Midi

After 14 years of hard toil and labour, it was nearly 1681 before the Canal linking up the two seas, the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean, was finished. The project was designed, carried out and financed by Pierre Paul Riquet. The Canal Royal du Languedoc now had to develop trade. Vauban improved the canal which was embellished with grand structures like the bridge-canals over the Répudre or the Cesse.

Planting modern vineyards

It was on these barges that local produce was shipped away. From the end of the 18th century to the beginning of the 19th they mainly carried cereals. From 1855 however, the number of vineyards increased dramatically. The attack of powdery mildew which hit the Languedoc late compared to other regions, further increased the wealth of local winegrowers until 1890. Phylloxera, overproduction and widespread fraud brought about an unprecedented crisis which resulted in the winegrowers' revolt in 1907. Marcelin Albert and his band of '87 madmen of Argeliers' organised a series of demonstrations. The 'White Midi' became a 'Red Midi' and the cooperative movement bringing a certain amount of security to small vineyard owners, appeared as a solution to this crisis. The cooperatives established the principle of 'one man, one vote'. The boom in wine production attracted workers away from industry towards agriculture and hoards of Spaniards fleeing poverty (in the 1920's) also came to find work in the area. The Civil War and Francoism (1939) led to a second wave of immigration. In the middle of the 20th century winegrowers decided to concentrate on quality rather than just quantity. In 1953 wines from Fitou were the first wines in the Langudoc to be awarded an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée label. Minervois and Corbières wines followed suit in 1985.

AOC : men, terroirs and wines

The Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée label draws its strength from the winegrowers themselves. They are the guarantors of prevailing traditions and are responsible for a great economic success. The concept of AOC wines is based on expertise which is specific to each terroir. This is what makes AOC wines so special. One of the most important aspects of winemaking is indeed the soil. Depending on where it is planted, the same vine will produce a wine with distinct characteristics. It is also the terroir which dictates where grand cru vines can be planted. The terroir is therefore one of the three essential factors for producing an AOC wine along with the type of vine and the labourer's work. Thus to produce an AOC wine is a chosen plan of action undertaken by each winegrower, inferring rights and obligations.