Article from Opimian Cellar 312 – Chile, Argentia, Alsace and Languedoc
Aimé and Véronique Guibert bought Mas de Daumas Gassac as a holiday home in 1970. Note, not as a vineyard. As is so often the case, it was a chance visit that led to the idea of planting a vineyard. One day, leading geologist Henri Enjalbert came to view Iron Age remains in the area and noticed the unique soil type here: decomposed granite rich in trace minerals and iron oxides, left behind by a retreating glacier. He mentioned this to Aimé, and the race was on. Guibert, who had the means, enlisted the services of the eminent Bordelais oenologist, Émile Peynaud. The rest is truly history because it seemed nearly impossible for a wine from the Hérault to rival the top Bordeaux estates. Fifty years later, Daumas Gassac has achieved iconic status both in France and abroad. Ungrafted Cabernet is the key, and older vintages show the wisdom of Peynaud, the Bordeauc legend who supervised the planting of the vineyards and