Over 10 years ago, architect, Catherine Roque, bought a house with vines and orchards, on the edge of Faugères, one of the finest appellations in Southern France. At this time, the area was considered too cold and northerly for appellation status. Catherine used this to her advantage planting non-appellation grape varieties – Pinot Noir, Clairette, Riesling, Petit Marseng – and producing, from them, very good Vin de Pays. Recently acquiring very old low yield vines, the highest in the appellation, she now also grows traditional regional grape varieties, producing fine appellation wines.
Thanks to its non-AOC designation, Catherine is able to experiment with officially unrecognised and unusual grape varieties such as the Petit Manseng, Viognier and Chardonnay, which she uses in her white wines, and the Pinot Noir she uses in two of her red cuvees. Domaine de Clovallon wines are certified as being fully organic.
