Domaine de l'Ostal

For many years, Jean-Michel Cazes, owner of Château Lynch-Bages in Pauillac, traveled the roads of Languedoc in search of great terroirs. One day, he discovered La Livinière, a village at the foot of the Montagne Noire, cradle of the greatest Minervois vineyards. In 2002, he bought two neighboring properties to create an estate of 150 hectares, including 60 ha of vines and 25 ha of olive trees. Together with his son Jean-Charles, they chose a name steeped in meaning and history: "l'ostal", which in the ancient langue d'oc refers to both the house and the family group that inhabits it. Domaine L'Ostal Cazes was born... Under the direction of Fabrice Darmaillacq and Daniel Llose, the technical teams immediately undertook a complete restructuring of the vineyard: massive uprooting, replanting of grape varieties, drainage of the soils, and so on. This comprehensive approach aims to express the full potential of the terroir and the Languedoc's greatest grape varieties: Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre and Carignan. In 2003, the Cazes family bought the Saint-Joseph tile factory, a magnificent 19th-century building, to house the estate's technical facilities. The first wines were bottled in 2004 (L'Ostal Cazes Grand Vin) and 2005 (L'Ostal Cazes Estibals).