Domaine du Pas de l'Escalette : Les Clapas 2023

Characteristics and tasting notes of the Les Clapas 2023 Domaine du Pas de l'Escalette

Tasting notes

Color
The color reveals a garnet hue, both light and brilliant.

Nose
Deep and elegant, the nose exudes a fruity bouquet blending blueberry, blackberry, and redcurrant, enriched by peppery notes and subtle hints of garrigue.

Palate
The palate stands out for its freshness and tension, offering a slightly sappy texture brought by whole-bunch vinification. The whole shows a beautiful structural balance that extends into a gourmet, long-lingering finish.

Food and wine pairing
This red wine pairs wonderfully with Mediterranean dishes and flavorful meats. It will perfectly accompany a lamb navarin, a traditional pissaladière, or a tian of sun-drenched vegetables with chorizo.

Service and storage
To fully enjoy the Les Clapas 2023, it is recommended to serve it at a temperature between 14 and 16°C, taking care to open it half an hour before tasting. This wine can be enjoyed now and will continue to evolve favorably until around 2030.

Other characteristics
This wine was awarded a score of 93/100 in the 2026 edition of the Revue du Vin de France guide.

The elegance and freshness of a red wine from the Terrasses du Larzac

The estate
Founded in 2003 by Julien Zernott and Delphine Rousseau, the Domaine du Pas de l'Escalette stands out in the Languedoc, France, for its environmentally respectful approach. Located at an altitude of 350 meters, this twenty-hectare estate is distinguished by its certified commitment to organic and biodynamic farming. The current owners, Julien and Delphine, showcase a unique terroir made up of limestone scree terraces. The estate is dedicated to preserving the region's historic grape varieties and produces wines renowned for their distinctive freshness, establishing itself as a key reference.

The vineyard
This wine comes from the Terrasses du Larzac appellation, northwest of Montpellier. The vineyard flourishes across about fifty scattered terraces, surrounded by dry stone walls locally known as "clapas". The vines, averaging forty-five years of age and trained in the gobelet method, are rooted in deep clay-limestone soils. Benefiting from a cool microclimate thanks to the regulating influence of the Larzac plateau and a natural underground irrigation system, this high-altitude terroir promotes a slow and balanced ripening of the grapes while preserving rich biodiversity.

Winemaking and aging
The grapes for the Les Clapas 2023 are hand-harvested with meticulous berry sorting. The winemaking follows a minimal-intervention approach: the syrah is vatted as whole bunches, while the carignan and grenache undergo co-fermentation with a twenty-one-day maceration. Fermentation takes place using indigenous yeasts in fifty-hectoliter wooden vats. Malolactic fermentation occurs in wood. The wine is then aged for about ten months in conical vats and concrete tanks.

Grape varieties
50% Syrah, 30% Carignan, 20% Grenache