Xavier Braujou, the owner of the Terrasse d’Elise wine estate, is one of the very best winemakers in the Languedoc. The son of a winemaker, he embarked on this adventure in 1998 and worked at the same time to finance his business. Xavier Braujou is a self-taught winemaker who never attended any school of viticulture or oenology. He is a tireless and meticulous worker in everything he undertakes.
Today, he has mastered his terroir, winemaking, and ageing methods to perfection. He also doesn’t hesitate to keep the wines in the cellar for a few extra years to refine them so they’re ready to drink the moment they’re released. The Élise cuvée is a wonderful example of this.
All of the wine estate’s vineyards are cultivated using organic farming methods, and yields are deliberately kept low, not exceeding 25 hl per hectare. Xavier Braujou of Domaine de la Terrasse d’Elise has gone even further, as he sought to express his personal vision of wine in the Aniane region and therefore had to forego AOC designations in favor of IGPs, which offer much greater flexibility in terms of grape varieties and winemaking practices.
Each of the single-vineyard cuvées exhibits a very distinct character while, of course, retaining the winemaker’s signature style. The XB cuvée is a pure Syrah with a fluid, refined, and spicy style, bordering on rusticity. The Enclos cuvée is a pure Mourvèdre that is both rustic and exceptionally refined. The Pradel cuvée is a pure Cinsault modeled after a great Burgundy from southern France; it combines finesse, complexity, and richness. The Élise cuvée is the wine estate’s most representative wine and one of Xavier Braujou’s greatest successes—though that’s just my personal opinion. Les Hauts de Carol’s is the wine estate’s top-of-the-line wine; it requires at least 5 years of aging, though 10 would be ideal.
Xavier Braujou also produces a sublime white wine that is at once fruity, floral, and very precise, much like the Siclène cuvée.
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