Andre Iché inherited Château d'Oupia, a real castle with medieval decor. His daughter Marie-Pierre currently runs the estate. Andre passed away in 2007, though his footprint has laid the groundwork for vignerons in the area, and he was one of the pioneers of the Minervois AOC. His relationship with Joe Dressner and his wife Denyse started in 1989 and it was a relationship that would cultivate a long-lived friendship. They speak about his love for the terroir, soil, and nature, his passion for the vines, and countless stories of their time with him. Our biggest takeaway - he wanted people to enjoy quality wines that he was fortunate to provide instead of making expensive juice out of his great sites.
New York fell in love with this wine. It seemed to be at every local shop in bk that we would visit. Finally, when we got our hands on it to try, we realized it was the perfect accessible grab and go wine. The wine is medium-full bodied, juicy, rich black fruit heaven. The carignan goes through carbonic maceration, giving the wine life and energy. The Grenache goes through the maceration for 21 -30 days, extracting all of the dark flavors that Grenache offers.
The wine has some savory notes with strawberries, raspberries, and slight spice. All concrete so the wine is not overpowered by any oak. A truly delicious wine for the price. Been waiting on this one for a while!
2021 Château D'Oupia,"Les Hérétiques" Carignan & Grenache , Languedoc France
- 30 year old vines on average
- Light Filtration at Bottling
- The Carignan goes through a full carbonic maceration. The Grenache is destemmed and macerates 21-30 days in concrete tanks with one remontage per day. The wine is fermented with selected yeasts. Three grams of S02 per hectoliter are added after malolactic fermentation.