The winery is located in the municipality of Sarrians in the Département
Vaucluse in the southern part of the
Rhône in south-eastern France. It was founded in 1980 by Max Saurel. Already at that time, chemical fertilizers were not used. The grapes were delivered to a cooperative. Son Eric and his wife Christine started the conversion to
Biodynamic viticulture in compliance with the guidelines for cultivation,
fertilization and pest control
(Bacillus thuringiensis). In 1999, after successful completion, they were certified by the associations
ECOCERT (organic) and BIODYVIN (biodynamic). In 2001 a newly built cellar with its own wine production was put into operation, the first vintage was 2002 and the current name was formed from the first names of the three children MON (Manon) - TI (Justine) - RIUS (Marius). The vineyards cover 57 hectares, divided into 38 plots. They are planted with the red Grenache Noir, Mourvèdre and Syrah varieties and the white Grenache Blanc, Roussanne and Bourboulenc varieties. They are all cultivated with
short pruning, which is done individually for each vine
The grapes are only harvested when they are optimally
physiologically ripe. The cellar is laid out on three levels so that the processing can take place without mechanical stress (pumps) if possible. The grapes are always
destemmed. The red wines undergo alcoholic and malolactic
fermentation; the latter sometimes only starts in spring. For the white wines, fermentation of the pressed must takes place without the skins. This is carried out without exception in conventional wooden barrels with natural yeasts through
spontaneous fermentation. Maturation is usually carried out in cement tanks over two winters without the use of barriques, in order to guarantee the fruitiness and unique taste of the wines.
Bottling is carried out taking into account the
phases of the moon. All wines mature for six months in the bottle before being marketed. The premium wines include "
Vacqueyras La Clos" (50% Grenache Noir, Syrah) and "
Gigondas Confidentiel" (80% Grenache Noir, 20% Mourvèdre). The product range also includes
Côtes du Rhône and
Vin de pays. Around 150,000 bottles of wine are produced annually, 70% of which are exported. The most important export country is Canada.
