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A distinctive feature sets Domaines Paul Mas apart from other wine producers in the region: from the beginning, half of its wines have been white, at the heart of a region that traditionally produces reds

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This unique decision was driven by the domaines’ founder, who was immediately convinced that “contrary to popular belief, the region has the terroir to produce excellent whites”.

Founded in 2000 by Jean-Claude Mas with a small family vineyard, Domaines Paul Mas now has seventeen châteaux and estates throughout the Languedoc Roussillon region, from the Gard to the Pyrénées-Orientales. In addition to these 940 hectares of property, which represent the heart of the company and a third of its total production, Domaines Paul Mas also vinifies grapes purchased from dozens of partner winegrowers and sells twenty-five million bottles a year in over eighty countries.

In order to prove it his vision for white wines, Jean-Claude Mas didn’t hesitate to take risks, and one of the very first cuvées to bear his name offered a blend of Chardonnay and Viognier. He transformed what seemed like an incongruous union, especially in these latitudes, into an aromatic bomb set to awaken the taste buds. His audacious choice paid off—it was an immediate success, and was emulated not only in the Languedoc region but also outside of France. This success story taught Jean-Claude Mas to follow his intuition, even when it goes against popular belief. Domaine de la Ferrandière particularly overturned a widespread belief by demonstrating that fertile soils can produce great white wines. With a vast diversity of terroirs and grape varieties at his disposal,Jean-Claude Mas has created a range of white wines with different characters, from wines offering great value for money to prestigious vintages. By combining flavour and freshness, which today’s technology makes it possible to preserve, all of these wines tell the story of their place of origin.

Twenty years of observation have enabled Jean-Claude Mas to select the terroirs best suited to the production of white wines and provide the vines with precise support in order to harvest raw material of the highest quality. In the chosen plots, a significant difference in temperature between day and night slows down the ripening of the grapes, which gives them optimal freshness. Ripening must also be as regular as possible.

The common denominator for all of the Domaines de Paul Mas’ different Languedoc white wines is that there’s nothing austere about them: they evoke generosity and voluptuousness, reflections of their southern terroirs and the freshness promoted by their creator. Jean-Claude Mas is confident in his palate and believes that his wines “speak to the world”. Their international success would appear to prove him right.

Hall 4 / Stand G 371

Photo Jean-Paul Mas : © Marie Ormières

Domaine de la Ferrandière – A unique vineyard oasis

The property that Jean-Claude Mas acquired in 2013 located between Corbières and Minervois, a few kilometres from Carcassonne, is not your average vineyard. The 75 hectares of Domaine de la Ferrandière are planted in an ancient pond.

This marshland was drained in the early 19th century and it took another fifty years to desalinate the land. The construction of a tunnel and an intricate irrigation and gravity drainage system made it possible to capture some of the water from the Aude river and pass it under the Canal du Midi to submerge the 2,000 hectares of land, transforming the Marseillette pond into a vast fertile plain where today vines, fruit trees and rice are grown. A miracle of nature and human ingenuity, the water was turned into wine.

Domaine de la Ferrandière, with a planted area reaching 154 hectares ten years after its purchase, represents a living, innovative space, a unique natural site shaped by man. The eighteen grape varieties planted there, both native and from elsewhere, are vinified with precision to produce wines that reflect their terroir and the Jean-Claude Mas style, combining freshness and sapidity.