Fleur de Cailloux 2023 Jean Philippe Padié | Roussillon

Fleur de Cailloux by Jean-Philippe Padié is one of the must-have white wines from our wine estate in Calce, in the Roussillon region, where windswept hills tell of the rugged beauty of a mineral landscape. This dry white wine draws its character from a mosaic of clay-limestone, schist and marl terroirs, perched between 200 and 350 meters above sea level. It's in this arid, stony soil that old vines of Grenache blanc, Macabeu and Grenache gris take root, cultivated according to the principles oforganic farming.

The name of the Fleur de Cailloux cuvée perfectly sums up its spirit: a pure, floral expression born of rocky soil. Since the creation of the wine estate in 2003, Jean-Philippe Padié has crafted his cuvées as sensitive portraits of his plots, with minimal intervention. This cuvée, in particular, is vinified without artifice: indigenous yeasts, natural fermentation, blending after fermentation, very little sulfur, and ageing in vats or tuns, depending on the year, to preserve the wine's energy. With this cuvée, Jean-Philippe Padié has created a Roussillon white wine of rare precision, both vibrant and easy to digest, equally at home as an aperitif or at the table, with subtle, iodized cuisine.

Philippe Mischler, sommelier at Mundovin : Fleur de Cailloux is one of those rare Roussillon white wines capable of combining aromatic fullness and mineral tension, without overplaying the sun. It's a wine that lets the soil speak for itself, with great restraint and salutary precision. A cuvée that proves, if proof were needed, that white Roussillon is to be taken very seriously.

On the nose, this Fleur reveals a delicate bouquet of hawthorn and lemon blossom, fresh pear and lemon zest. A light touch of gunflint mingles with a very clear expression.

On the palate, the wine is chiseled, taut with natural acidity. It stretches out with aromas of citrus fruit, white flowers and a balanced, persistent salinity. The finish is straightforward, slightly chalky, with a mineral echo that evokes the soils of Calce. No excess, just a fresh, bright, precise white.