The Fraternity of Pic Saint Loup

by Sarah Hernan

Our guest today is Pierre Ravaille, one of the three Ravaille brothers from the Languedoc domaine Ermitage du Pic Saint Loup. Kermit first met the Ravaille family about 15 years ago. He was struck by the almost pre-historic stone house, farm, and cellar, as well as their private wine collection (which includes some of the greatest wines of France). As Kermit says, “We also, it turned out, liked to grill outdoors with a good bottle and good conversation.” The relationship has continued solidly ever since.

Tell us more about your story; what is the history of the domaine?
“The domaine Ermitage du Pic Saint Loup has been in our family for ages. The first records of the family in the Languedoc date back to the revolution. Vine growing was always a part of the domaine but at the beginning it was mostly raising sheep.

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During the 1960s, while the Languedoc was well known for terrifically high yields, our father had a broad vision—he wanted to focus on quality instead of quantity and he started planting Grenache and Syrah.

In 1983 he decided to stop working with sheep to dedicate himself to the vines. He still kept taking the grapes to the cooperative cellar of Pic Saint Loup created in 1951 by his father.”

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Three brothers working together—how does this collaboration work?
“Unlike what people might think about families working together, we consider ourselves lucky.
In 1992 my brothers and I decided to vinify our own wine and stopped taking the grapes to the cooperative cellar of Pic Saint Loup. This is the beginning of a wonderful story.

Xavier works in the vineyards, Jean-Marc takes care of the administration, and I am in charge of the vinification, shipping, and sales.

1999 was a big turning point for the domaine; we decided to work the vineyards using only biodynamic practices. It took about 5 years to start seeing the first results. Today the domaine has both organic and biodynamic certification.”

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What would be the best word to describe your philosophy on winemaking, and why?
“The best word to describe our philosophy would be “precision,” because it is a point of honor to be as refined as possible, whether it is in the vineyard or in the cellar.“

What are your projects for the future?
“Twenty-three years since our collaboration began, we are still here, stronger than ever and with amazing ambitions.
We have two main goals for the future. First, we would like to convert all our vineyards to ‘sélection massale.’

We frequently visit our vigneron friends in different regions, taste wines from various parcels, and choose cuttings from the vines that produce our favorite wines. In February of each year, we retrieve the vine cuttings and integrate them into our own vineyards, thus ensuring greater diversity in our vineyards.

For our Syrah, we chose vines from the northern Rhône; for Mourvèdre, we went to Bandol; for Grenache, we went to the southern Rhône, and we also used our own Grenache selection from the Gaucelm plot (which has 85 year-old vines rooted in a soil of white clay and round stones).

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Our second aim is to develop the terroir of Cazevieille, a hard, red clay soil at almost 1,400 feet above sea level. The terroir of Cazevieille is the highest in Pic Saint Loup; it produces concentrated wines with great freshness and balance.”

Available wines from Ermitage du Pic Saint Loup:

2014 Pic Saint Loup Rosé
$16.00 per bottle $172.80 per case

2013 Languedoc Blanc “Cuvée Sainte Agnès’’
$24.00 per bottle $259.20 per case

2013 Pic Saint Loup Rouge “Tour de Pierres’’
$18.00 per bottle $194.40 per case

2013 Pic Saint Loup Rouge “Cuvée Sainte Agnès”
$25.00 per bottle $270 per case

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