Collioure Blanc L'Argile, Domaine de la Rectorie 2023

The Parcé family established their vineyards near Banyuls in the Roussillon region of France just after the turn of the 20th century. At first the family sold grapes to the co-operative like most of their neighbours and this situation persisted until 1984 when Marc and Thierry Parcé decided to make and bottle their own wine.

Since that decision they have never looked back.

The brothers had not grown up on the land at Banyuls but returned to it in 1976 and 1981 respectively, and today Thierry takes care of winemaking with Jean-Emmanuel, his son, while Marc administers the business side of things, makes wine at their other interest La Préceptorie de Centernach in Maury, and oversees their distribution company ‘Les Vins Parcé Frères’.

They now farm 30 hectares of vines in Banyuls, divided into the same number of parcels in the mountains overlooking the Mediterranean. The terrain dictates that the parcels have a variety of exposures, soils (though schist dominates), altitudes and grape varieties. The vines themselves average 50 years of age and are densely planted to increase competition between the roots, and some parcels have a mixture of grapes grown together.

Grenache noir, grenache gris, carignan and some grenache blanc are grown, with sustainability at the forefront of their viticultural thinking. Red AOC Collioure dominates production with white Collioure following and fortified Banyuls the least at 15% of volume.