Domaine Clos de l'Amandaie

Domaine Clos de l'Amandaie lies in Aumelas, about 25 km northwest of Montpellier, where Stéphanie and Philippe Peytavy work the family's 30 hectares of vines as a family. The vines are planted on the sloping hillsides of the Causse d'Aumelas, on clay-limestone soils, and make wines in the Languedoc and Grès de Montpellier appellations.

The Peytavy family has worked these slopes for six generations, each adding its own touch while drawing on the advice of the elders. Philippe caught the winemaking bug from his grandfather, and for him there was no choice but to carry on the family's heritage. In 2002 he and his wife Stéphanie, who came to France from Mauritius to finish her university studies, took over the estate. They revitalised the vineyard and kept developing the business.

Respect for nature has been a priority from the start. The couple work with respect for the biodiversity in the vineyard: severe pruning, selective disbudding, organic manure, tillage, lower yields and no insecticides. The vineyard is certified organic, and the wines are organic from the 2021 vintage.

The vines grow on the northern slopes of the Aumelas plateau, in the coolest part of the Grès de Montpellier appellation. Cooler nights and a higher altitude make the grapes ripen slowly and evenly, so they harvest later than their neighbours, in mid-September, and the special microclimate gives the wines their freshness, finesse and complex aromas.

The estate's identity was born from the almond tree, the emblem of the commune, a hundred-year-old witness that once lined the hamlets of Aumelas. Stéphanie and Philippe entrusted it to the calligrapher Shan Shan, whose brush expresses the finesse of the wines, and they still work closely with him on each new vintage.