The Estate
Still a cellar master in Saint-Émilion, Julien Ditté envisioned a project with his friend Olivier Cazenave (Château de Bel) to reclaim old parcels of Grenache Noir. They decided to classify their wines as "Vin de France" to maintain greater freedom in crafting their cuvées.
The project began with the first vintage in 2011, driven by the desire to showcase the aging potential of wines from the Aspres terroir while vinifying without artifice. Over the years, this terroir has proven its ability to produce long-aging wines.
They named their project "Amistat", the Catalan word for friendship.
The wines are crafted as naturally as possible on a magnificent terroir at the foothills of Mont Canigou—rolling low-altitude hills interspersed with woodlands, scrub, and heathland. The initial idea was to work with Grenache, an indigenous grape variety, using massal selection. The project later expanded to include a parcel of Macabeu in 2012 and a centenary Carignan vine in 2020.
The Wine
Manual harvesting in 10kg crates, no destemming, manual sorting on a table. Only indigenous yeasts, spontaneous fermentation.
Static aging on lees without stirring for 12 months in French oak demi-muids.
No Sulfur added
Tasting
The salmon color is surprising (is it a rosé?), but very quickly the markers of a pure white wine emerge on the nose: jasmine, peach, citrus. On the palate, the wine has a nice roundness due to aging on lees, and it is more complex than it appears. It will be perfect for an aperitif and will easily pair with the entire meal.
