Casot des Mailloles

Casot des Mailloles was founded in 1994 by Alain Castex and Ghislaine Magnier on steep terraced vineyards above the town of Banyuls-sur-Mer in the Pyrénées-Orientales. The name comes from the stone shelters found throughout the region's vineyards, where workers traditionally took refuge from heat, rain, and the Tramontane wind. The estate covers five hectares and produces around 12,000 bottles per year. In 2015, Castex and Magnier handed the estate to Jordi Perez, a Catalan winemaker who had trained in viticulture and oenology at Blanquefort and completed internships ranging from Grand Cru Bordeaux estates to small producers in Côtes de Gascogne.

The home vineyards in Banyuls sit on dark schist terraces too steep to work by machine. Perez added a separate parcel in Tarerach, around 550-600 meters elevation, with granitic sandy soils, which he uses for the Comax Ethylix cuvée. All vineyard work is certified organic. Permanent plant cover is maintained between rows, and the vines are worked under the row with horse traction. Amendments are organic only. Volcanic sulfur and plant preparations are used in minimal quantities for vine protection.

Vinification is entirely natural across all wines: indigenous yeast fermentations only, no added sulfites, no fining, no filtration. For Comax Ethylix, Perez uses a divided approach to the harvest, combining whole clusters, destemmed grapes, and direct-pressed juice in equal thirds. Maceration is kept short. Aging takes place in stainless steel vats for a few months before bottling. The wines are labeled Vin de France, a designation Castex and Magnier used from the start after the local AOC tasting committee repeatedly excluded their wines.