Schist: From the Greek word skhistos,which means "can be split".

The wines are produced on the hill Força Réal (altitude 505 m), 15 km northwest of Perpignan.

The hill is formed of schist that date back 450 million years.

These are metamorphic rocks, clay sediments originally have been subject to high pressure and high temperature variations, and have acquired the form of thin plates.

This stone hill offers an exceptional view over the entire Roussillon plain and the sea. The human species was already installed in this environment there some 500,000 years ago as we proved to have the oldest human bones in France, discovered the "Cauna Arago”, near the present village of Tautavel. During the vineyard’s development work, we regularly find carved stones that belonged to our ancestors.

Thus, our region has always been a land of welcome, and even a lost sailor looking for his way back home from the sea, since Hill Força Réal is and always has been a landmark from the sea for fishermen in Collioure.

Making wine on the land that had first only served as a fixed point of turmoil for it’s hearty terrain, this may be what makes you dream of the generations of farmers who have succeeded on Força Réal.

In its historic and picturesque Guide Pyrénées Orientales (1879), Pierre Vidal mentions wine of The River Corneilla, "by his liquor and bouquet, one of the best." This is to find these great wines. That the vineyard was re-planted at the beginning of the 70’s on the hill of Força Réal. What Pierre Vidal describes in his book summarizes the magic the slate provide our wines and all the wines in the world developed on these soils: roundness and long finish, finesse and complexity of flavors, elegant tannins.

Indeed, our soils allow the roots of the vines to penetrate deeply to find what it needs; water and minerals. The soil is permeable and dry. The vine is a balance on this soil and requires almost no processing. It boasts southeast sun, less hot in Summer as the setting sun, the northwest wind, the freshness of the altitude. Our expertise is to frame this development by avoiding plowing, so as not to disrupt the microbial life of the soil and schist. Biodiversity at the heart of our vineyards, we also planted forest around the vineyard, favored by woodland edges, but also created ponds and placed dozens of hives of bees.

We discard any mechanization especially when pruning or harvesting so as not to abuse the vineyards or compacting soils. All of our harvesting is done entirely by hand. The quality of fermentation in our cellars and the aging potential of the wines are guaranteed by the healthy grapes for this exceptional terrain.