Le Château de la Tuilerie

In the hands of the family since 1955 and considered to be the jewel of the Nîmes hills, Chateau de la Tuilerie is situated in the oldest part of that area of Nîmes that takes the Costières de Nîmes Appellation and its vineyards rise to 80m at their highest peak on one of the seven hills, wind swept by the Mistral.

Situated in an area of exceptional beauty, surrounded by woods, orchards, vineyards, and the stunning mountain range of Les Cévennes to the West and the sea to the South, beyond the Camargue lagoons, Chateau de la Tuilerie produces wines that are considered to be fundamental to the Rhône Valley.

"to give our wines a less conventional and more humorous image; to make them more provocative and poetic… if necessary, we will re-invent a new wine for each day! Wine may be made with love and care but it is first and foremost made for pleasure!". Chantal Comte

An exceptional terroir

• Chateau de la Tuilerie is situated in the oldest part of the hills, consisting of miles of silt brought in by the Rhône during the quartz era on clay marl from the tertiary era (Pliocene).

• t is an area that has been heavily leached by rain due to its situation towards the extreme end of the North, a part of the Nîmes Coast that is characterized by widely disparate levels: the soil is poor, acidic, sandy and full of pebbles (quartz, quartzite, flint…).

The deep under soil is clayey and, contrary to the upper surface, light and spongy. Consisting mainly of fersialitic soil (locally called hazle) and pliocene marl found on the bed of the shallow sea near the hills in the area of the sandy beach of Générac.
The Tuilerie is north facing, which makes it cooler and more windy than other areas. This makes the land very acidic and more resilient with age. Its acidic upper soil and very clayey under soil together with its orientation towards the north are what define the main characteristics of the Tuilerie soil:

• For some unknown reason, this light, acidic and loose soil seems to produce more refined and elegant wines than wine made from grapes grown on limestone.

• The clay under soil gives the vineyards very little access to water and minerals, which produces a good but limited vintage made from small grapes which make very concentrated, intense and aromatic wines.

• Its north facing position, which brings cooler nights favors acidity (elegance and good aging) and the synthesis of anthocyanins (color).
Add to all this the expertise of the wine maker and you are guaranteed the best possible wine from this unique wine growing soil."

Interview by Gilles Sub, DPE Engineer, head of quality for Viticulture de la chamber d'agriculture du Gard (wine department of the agricultural chamber of Gard).