Jorel in Maury
Manuel Jorel and his family started the domaine in 2000, but for years before that he had been active as a grape picker and winemaker. In 1988 he visited the area for the first time, to gain experience in grape cultivation. He worked for a season at the cooperative in Maury. Totally enchanted by the beauty of the area, he eventually returned with the whole family 12 years later to set up a domaine himself. Starting small, tiny, with 0.4 hectares of Macabeo in Maury.
In the following years, several vineyards and plots on different terroirs in Maury were bought and rented. Today, the estate consists of 6 hectares. Half of it consists of very old vines of Grenache and Carignan of more than 60 years old. The other half consists of younger vines that were planted by the owners. Only very traditional Mediterranean varieties are planted, such as Mourvedre, Morrastel, Malvoisie Grosse, Carignan, Grenache and Muscat.
local agricultural history
From the beginning, they have been working organically. Manuel believes that it is the primary responsibility of the farmer to take care of the land they work, and of course the plants and animals that live there. In the long run, it benefits the wines they make, and last but not least, the people who drink them!
Manuel is aware of biodynamics but does not practice it. He refers to Walter Benjamin - a Jewish-German philosopher - who wrote in 1933: “With this tremendous development of technology, a completely new poverty has descended on mankind. And the reverse side of this poverty is the oppressive wealth of ideas that has been spread among people, or rather has swamped them entirely – ideas that have come with the revival of astrology and the wisdom of yoga, Christian science and chiromancy, vegetarianism and gnosis , scholasticism and spiritualism. For this is not a genuine revival but a galvanization”
Now, times have certainly changed, but there is some truth in it. Manuel prefers to fall back on local agricultural history. It tells how the lands should be cared for and maintained: Fertilizing, ploughing, avoiding heavy machinery that compacts the soil, traditional 'gobelet' pruning, manual harvesting and finally planting mixed varieties.
Terroir
Very interesting in the extreme south-west of France, and therefore applicable to Domaine Jorel: it is located on the border of two continents, Europe & Africa. The landmass of what is now Spain and Portugal, was originally an African island that merged with Europe about 60 to 100 million years ago. It is precisely the reason for such a diverse range of terroirs within such a small area. Manuel is busy with it. He now has 14 different grape varieties that are grown on different terroirs. It results in different mono-cepage wines (one grape, one soil/land type, one year), but also certainly in 'cuvees' or blends of different wines.
Lovely Jorel!
Early in the morning, the grapes are harvested (by hand) to avoid the midday heat. Upon arrival in the cellar, the use of mechanical pumps is avoided and the grapes are taken by hand to the destalker, the press and the tanks. Quite a job, but they manage.
The wines of the Jorel family breathe the area, but also especially the way of making, the thought behind it, life stripped of all complexity. A simple beauty!
