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n 1970, when there was a great exodus from the Languedoc due to a loss of faith in its vineyards to provide a sufficient living, Jean-Pierre Jullien named his domaine “Cal Demoura”, which in Occitan means “one must remain”. He came from a long line of vignerons and, at that time, he followed most of his colleagues as they closed their caves and attempted to survive by participating in the local cooperative. Jean-Pierre’s son, Olivier, refused to follow the path of the cooperative and established his own domaine, the “Mas Jullien”, in 1985. Jean-Pierre, in a reversal of the usual process, took the example of his son, resigned from the cooperative and recreated his own estate in 1993. He sold off a portion of his vineyards and retained only the best 5 hectares. With these, he began making a wine of regal dimensions that helped to lead the qualitative revolution in the Languedoc. In 2004, Jean-Pierre retired, selling the estate to its current owners, Isabelle and Vincent Goumard. Seduced by the estate’s winemaking philosophy, as well as by the potential of its terroir, this young couple, having studied oenology in Dijon, spent a year working side by side with Jean-Pierre in the vineyard and in the cellar, before taking full control of the estate. Having worked with Jean-Pierre Jullien for the entirety of his career as producer and now having worked with Isabelle and Vincent from the very outset of theirs, we can happily attest to the fact that this transition, from Jullien to Goumard, is one of the most felicitous in our experience.
The estate now encompasses eleven hectares of vineyards located in the village of Jonquières and in the neighboring community of Saint Felix, approximately 45 minutes (30 kilometers) northwest of Montpellier, just south of Clermont l’Hérault. They are situated in the heart of the Terrasses du Larzac, an independent subdivision within the Coteaux du Languedoc AOC that was recognized in 2004 for its distinctive ability to render wines of exceptional balance and depth due to the special micro-climate in which it is located. The vineyards feature five red grape varieties in approximately equal parts: Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah, Carignan and Cinsault. The average age of the vines is 30 years the soil is very dry and stony with a deep but porous topsoil. The various parcels of the domaine are distributed over a terroir that is both geographically and climatically diverse. These variations, combined with an assortment of different cépages, result in wines of complexity and finesse. The Terrasses du Larzac also benefits from the cooling winds that come both from the Mediterranean (to the south) and from the mountains to the north of Monpeyroux. This results in a long growing season that preserves essential acidity and yields juice of high complexity.
Isabelle and Vincent are committed to producing wines that respect the environment from which they come, and express both their terroir, and the personality of the winemaker. In the vineyard, the Goumards treat organically and harvest manually. Harvest levels are approximately 30 hectoliters per hectare and sometimes considerably less. There is a double selection done at harvest to secure only the ripest, healthiest grapes, once in the vineyard and a second time in the chai before pressing.
In the cellar, they practice a classic vinification. Each grape variety is harvested and vinified separately. The initial fermentation occurs in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats and in December the wines are then racked into barrel. After one year of aging, a selection is made and the assemblage is determined. The wines then are given an extra six months to find their identity before being bottled without fining or filtration.
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