Rivesaltes Riveyrac (Domaine) 1966

Lot presentation

Rivesaltes Riveyrac (Domaine) 1966

The wine

Between mountain and sea, the clay-limestone soil of Salses is dry and sunny, ideal for this type of wine. The grape variety consists of a large majority of Grenache noir (at least 70%) with some complementary white grape varieties: Maccabeu, Grenache blanc, Malvoisie du Roussillon (or Tourbat). Some wines were kept longer, especially from the 1960s, when sales began to decline. The best barriques were then left in reserve, waiting for better days: we acquired wines still in barrels, at the beginning of 2010, in order to bottle them in the best conditions.

About the Producer Riveyrac

The wines of Riveyrac come from the Salses-le-Château co-operative cellar. It is one of the oldest co-operative cellars in the Pyrénées-Orientales department, founded by eight growers on 22nd January 1909, uniting against adverse circumstances during one of the worst viticultural crises in the region's history. Ideally located on the old Roman Via Domitia (which intersects here with the A9 motorway), it also sits in the shadow of the fortifications of the Château de Salses, built by 15th-century Spanish Catholic kings as a frontier-post against the kingdom of France (the Pyrénées-Orientales only became part of France during the reign of Louis XIV). Between the two world wars, the cellar specialised in the great red AOC Rivesaltes vins doux naturels, whose sales grew steadily year on year: they were matured for around ten years in foudre, barrique and demi-muid barrels before being sold to the rich merchants from the neighbouring village of Rivesaltes.

Detailed characteristics