Vallee des Aigles, Limoux Merlot 2016

The grapes are handpicked. Then each varietal is sorted and placed in a broad stainless-steel vat where the grapes burst under their own weight and the pressure of gravity's pull. The juice is then left in contact with the skins for 2-3 days while cold maceration takes place in a controlled environment no warmer than 12˚C, and the caps are carefully punched down twice every day to ensure maximum extraction between the grape juice and the pulp and skins to ensure the colour and aromas of the final product. The juice is then left to ferment for approximately a fortnight in a controlled temperature of no more than 25˚C, after which the vat is drained and the free run wine is separated from the skins and gross lees so that it can undergo malolactic fermentation to balance the wines' acidity and add depth to their flavours. Finally, each varietal wine is then blended with the others and aged until April in steel vats.

Boris decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and studied chemistry and enology, specialising in the positive health properties of the tannins that are found in grape skins, both when consumed as wine but also when applied externally to the skin. His enological studies continued in Montpelier from 1993 to 1994 where he met the love of his life, Virginie. They were married in 1996 and continue to live in Rivesaltes, just a short drive from the Spanish border. Boris began work as a winemaker around this time and was instrumental in a major project that looked to craft French wines in styles more commonly associated with New World countries with a view to exploring export markets such as Australia, with great success. He began his own project, Vallée des Aigles in 2003 and 5 years later finally purchased a small winery with 7 hectares of fantastic old vines in the commune of Latour de France in the Roussillon hills overlooking the Med, called Domaine de l’Agly. Today, this is where Boris makes his own wines, and they could not be less New World in style if they tried. Instead, these wines embody the rich resources of old vine Carignan, Grenache, Cinsault, Mourvèdre et al, and speak volumes of the unique and special terroir here. Boris is in high demand as a winemaking consultant throughout the Languedoc-Roussillon.

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