Wine for sale: Domaine du Duy

Domaine du Duy

Domaine du Duy was founded in the mid-19th century in the famous commune of Collioure, renowned for its magnificent church, beautiful port and – above all – the attraction the village held for painters in the early 20th century, including Derain, Braque and Matisse. Le Duy (sometimes written as Dui or Douy) is a steep stream that hurls itself into the Mediterranean in Collioure. A very complex network of small canals – known locally as agouilles – drains the rainwater (especially from violent storms) towards Le Duy to ensure the hillside is not turned into a ravine. Between the agouilles, the terraces – reinforced with low walls – are man-made, and have been cultivated since time immemorial. Access on foot or by mule was provided by the agouilles, which also facilitated the transportation of grapes to the village at harvest time. These thousand-year-old terraces are the perfect terroir for the old Grenache Noir vines: the soil is made from eroded schist, which is very crumbly and affords excellent drainage. In addition, this hillside – which overlooks the village – is beautifully ventilated by the tramontane (the dominant wind in this area), enabling late harvesting of grapes in an excellent state of maturity. Following the manual harvesting, the grapes are brought to the family cellar in Collioure, are fortified following the "Arnaud de Villeneuve" procedure, and spend two years in glass carboy containers on the roof of the cellar as dictated by tradition. Until the start of this century, they were then refined in demi-muid barrels, but are now bottled with great care to preserve the integrity of the wine. The majority of the harvests used to be sold within three to five years of harvesting, but the owner has kept back a reserve stock of most vintages from the 1970s and the 1980s.