Mas des Chimères

Le Mas des Chimères in a nutshell....

The Mas des Chimères is located in Octon, in the Hérault department, bordering the Lac du Salagou. This family estate has been run since the 1990s by Guilhem Dardé, an independent, sincere and passionate winemaker. The vineyard is located in the Terrasses du Larzac appellation area, at the heart of an exceptional environment marked by volcanic landscapes and unique red soils. Long a cooperator, Guilhem Dardé decided to vinify his own grapes in 1993. He then created Mas des Chimères, a name that evokes the imagination, complexity and mineral identity of his land. Today, the estate is a benchmark in the Languedoc for those seeking authentic wines, rooted in their soil, and cultivated with rigor and respect.

The terroir of Mas des Chimères is one of the most singular in the Languedoc. The vines are planted on soils of red ruffes (marl rich in iron oxide) and basalt, the result of past volcanic activity in the area. This rare geology gives the wines a strong mineral imprint and a beautiful freshness despite the Mediterranean climate.

The vineyard, covering some twenty hectares, is situated between 150 and 350 meters above sea level, in the foothills of the Cévennes. This elevation, combined with cool nights and the proximity of the lake, helps preserve the grapes' natural acidity and ensure balanced ripeness, despite hot, dry summers. This dry, stony, low-fertility terroir encourages the vines to put down deep roots. This translates in the glass into wines that are dense, deep, but always lively and balanced.

The Mas des Chimères has been certified organic since 2008, but organic practices were in place long before that. Guilhem Dardé works his vines like a garden, paying constant attention to biodiversity, the natural rhythms of plants and soil autonomy. No synthetic herbicides or pesticides are used. The soil is lightly worked, sometimes with animal traction, and weed cover is controlled to prevent erosion and maintain a natural balance. The estate also practices biodynamics, without seeking the label, with specific preparations (herbal teas, silica, horn dung) and respect for lunar cycles for both vineyard and winery work. This global approach aims to reinforce the vitality of the soil, the resistance of the vines and the purest expression of the terroir. All grapes are harvested by hand, sorted by plot. Vinification is low-intervention: fermentations are carried out with indigenous yeasts, without the addition of enzymes or commercial yeasts. The use of sulfur is moderate and reasoned.

Reds are often vinified in partially whole bunches, with long macerations to extract substance and complexity without aggressiveness. Aging is done in concrete vats or foudre, rarely in new wood, to preserve the wine's identity without masking fruit or minerality.

Whites and rosés are vinified with the same demand for precision and purity: slow pressing, light settling, slow fermentation and aging on fine lees.

Le Mas des Chimères produces a coherent range of wines divided into AOP Terrasses du Larzac, IGP Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert, Vin de France and AOP Languedoc. Each cuvée bears the imprint of the place and the sincerity of the winemaker.

The Mas des Chimères stands out for its constancy, humility and refusal to compromise. Guilhem Dardé and his family don't chase fashions or medals, but simply seek to make wines that speak of their land, their season, their hand. The style is consistent: straightforward, deep, grounded wines that don't seek bluster but truth.

The Mas des Chimères has many fine cuvées.

Oeillades is a juicy Cinsault with light tannins that titillate the taste buds.

Le blanc du Mas des Chimeres is fresh and complex, a rarity coup de coeur to be discovered absolutely!

Nuit Grave is one of the estate's Terrasses du Larzac: fruity, it's accessible more quickly than Caminarem.

Caminarem is a superb Terrasses du Larzac that requires a few months' cellaring to come into its own.

Prices remain very reasonable!

Discover other great Languedoc organic wines with the Domaine des Homs in Minervois, the Domaine d'Aupilhac sur Montpeyroux, the Mas Jullien, the Mas des Brousses and the Mas de la Seranne on Terrasses du Larzac, the Domaine Maxime Magnon or le Château la Baronne on Corbières or le Clos de la Barthassade.