Julie Karsten came to winemaking not through oenology school but through psychology, learning the craft hands-on in the vines around the medieval village of Castillon-du-Gard.
Backstory
The estate was established in 1993, and Julie joined the family project in 1998 before inheriting it from her in-laws in 2008. With a background in psychology rather than viticulture, she learned on the job through the guidance of her father-in-law and winemaking friends, building a small, family-run operation with no outside workers.
The Region
The vines lie in Castillon-du-Gard in the Gard, in the western Southern Rhone, near the famous Roman Pont du Gard and west of Avignon. It is a warm, Mediterranean-influenced landscape where the classic Rhone varieties ripen fully.
Vineyards and Farming
Julie farms around 10 hectares of Syrah, Grenache, Cinsault and Mourvedre, with vines averaging 20 to 50 years of age. The estate has been certified organic by Ecocert since 1998, with no synthetic pesticides or herbicides, in pursuit of what she calls living soils for living wines.
Winemaking
The cellar work is low-intervention. Fermentation relies on indigenous yeasts, the wines age in large vats, and only minimal sulfur is added during aging and at bottling.
The Wines
Production runs to roughly 30,000 to 45,000 bottles a year, led by her Cotes du Rhone Metaphysique des Cuves alongside cuvees such as Enfant Gate, all marked by purity and a direct connection to their place.
