The Aveyron department is seeing the arrival of new winegrowers. Everyone noticed the potential of this small wine region.
“ Over the last two years, six of us have settled in the AOC Marcillac “. Justine Plasse-Lèpinay took over the Courbiès estate in Conques-en-Rouergue in Aveyron with her partner Damien Bourgoin in January 2024. According to the 30-year-old winemaker, among the new operators are, “ many young people like us. » These arrivals are important for this small wine-growing region in the South West, which only covers a little over 300 hectares. Justine Plasse-Lèpinay and Damien Bourgoin did not, however, think they would one day work in this department. “ We first looked in Switzerland “. The young woman worked there for two years as head of cultivation for the Chambey estate and Damien Bourgoin, for five years, as cellar master at the Balisiers estate. “ We didn’t have an opportunity, so we turned to France. » The couple discovered the announcement from the former owners of the Courbiès estate. They came to visit. “ We fell in love with the region, the vines but also the people », confides the winegrower. “ There was beautiful biodiversity on the plots, natural water sources in the soil », notes Damien Bourgoin. The endemic grape variety of the region also presents qualities. “ The advantage of Mansois (or fer-servadou) is that it has very little alcohol. » It allows you to make reds of different styles. Wines ” on freshness and fruit ” like the ” quite interesting barrel-aged wines in terms of extraction », further specifies the winegrower. Moreover, ” it is a rustic grape variety, which does not need many treatments “.
“At night the temperatures go down, even in summer”
Like them, Matthieu Blanc, who founded Mas Floème in 2021, did not see himself at the head of a vineyard in Aveyron when he began his reconversion in 2016. “ For two years, I worked for estates in Hérault and the Pyrénées-Orientales. I was rather thinking of joining forces in Languedoc “, he explains. Then, Matthieu Blanc met winegrowers who were selling their plots in the south of Aveyron. They were in different communes. He took over these vines and united them to make a single estate. Matthieu Blanc, who works a total of seven hectares, quickly saw the potential of this territory. “ We are lucky to be at altitude. At night temperatures drop again, even in summer. This can give wines with fruit, freshness and melted tannins. Wines that we are looking for today. » The soils are also very rich for the winegrower. “ I work in a piecemeal manner to find the specificities of the subsoil: I have clay-limestone scree on certain plots, shale on others », explains the winemaker, now 50 years old.
This vineyard thus presents many assets which they intend to highlight with the support of the elders. “ This dynamic would not be possible without them, would like to add Justine Plasse-Lèpinay. There are a lot of people, there for several years or close to retirement, who share their experience. »
