Domaine Carterole - Joachim Roque
Collioure - Roussillon
Joachim grew up in the hills surrounding Collioure in the Roussillon, one of the last towns along the coast before you reach Spain. The landscape is beautiful and desert-like - arid, steep and dusty, the deep blue of the Mediterranean Sea lapping at the shores in the distance. There are vines everywhere you look, terraced vines that are notoriously difficult to work and low yielding.
Joachim farms organically and predominantly by hand, using a ‘xadic’ (the Catalan word for a small axe like tool) on his 8.5 hectares around Collioure, and he uses some machinery in the flatter plots around the village of Saint André where he lives with his family.
He works with respect for the vines and the eco-system, working with, rather than against the challenges of the climate and the wild boars that ravage the vines.
Since 2014 Joachim has vinified at Les 9 Caves - a cooperative of independent winemakers in Banyuls who share equipment and ideas. His cave is tiny, most of the red cuvées going into barrels and the whites into stainless steel, with nothing added at any stage of the winemaking. It is a Tetris-like operation trying to find space for everything, and so he is in the process of building his own cellar in Saint André. The community at Les 9 Caves has however been integral to his learning and the evolution of his wines.
The conditions in Banyuls are unforgiving - the heat is intense and the rainfall is almost non-existent, however Joachim’s wines retain an exciting freshness and vibrancy that is really transportive - well-balanced, saline and characterful, they are a beautiful expression of the Côte Vermeille. - LT 2022
