Domaine l'Ancienne Cure

History

The estate was founded by the Roche family as early as the 19th century in the commune of Colombier, south of Bergerac. In the past, it not only concentrated on vines, but also on cereal crops and livestock. It was in 1935 that vines took on a slightly larger role in this family business. Amédée Roche changed all that by creating, with the help of a few winegrowers, the Monbazillac cooperative winery.

Cattle and cereals were gradually replaced by more land planted with vines. In the 1950s, the Roche family bought an old presbytery and renovated it to set up their winegrowing business. The "L'Ancienne Cure" estate was born!

A few years later, in 1968, the first wine was bottled at the estate. A new generation arrived with Christian Roche, who inherited part of the estate in 1984. He converted the winery and set up as an independent winemaker. With more experience, he realized over the years that the quality of the wines depends above all on the fundamentals: respect for the earth and the plant.

As a result, he is constantly questioning the best practices to implement. His aim is to obtain the healthiest, highest-quality grapes possible. To achieve this, he set in motion a process of conversion to organic viticulture, which culminated in certification in 2012.

Good grapes make good wine

And it was quite a job to convert the 50 hectares of vines, located in the commune of Colombier. 33 hectares of white varieties (Sauvignon blanc, Sauvignon gris, Muscadelle, Chenin Blanc, Sémillon, Ondenc,...) and 17 of reds (Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec). A variety of grape varieties that gives Christian Roche the freedom to produce cuvées with diverse characteristics. The vines, rather young (35 years old on average), are vigorous and thrive on multi-faceted soils: calcareous clay, limestone, sandy loam, stony limestone, sandy-clay gravel.

The vines enable the estate to produce 180,000 bottles from the cellar each year. These bottles will be adorned with labels mentioning several appellations: Monbazillac (main AOC), Pécharmant, Bergerac, Bergerac Sec, Côtes-de-Bergerac, Côtes-de-Bergerac Moelleux.

But this range of wines wouldn't be so pleasing if Christian Roche hadn't adjusted the work in the vineyard. For him, 90% of the quality of the final wine results from the raw material (the vine) and therefore from the care given to the vines all year round. It was after much reflection on what seemed best for his plots that he decided to implement several changes: deep tillage, adapting planting densities, fewer treatments, etc.

The Domaine l'Ancienne Cure is definitely a must-see in this wine region, which, thanks to the intelligent work of its winemakers, is also gaining in notoriety with appellations such as Pécharmant, Bergerac and Monbazillac...