Chateau d'Oupia Les Heretiques 2024

Chateau d’Oupia is located in the heart of Minervois, a mountain region characterized by fierce winds, limestone soils, and very old vines. Until recently, most Languedoc-Roussillon wine was sold in bulk, designed more for quantity than quality. André Iché, founder of Chateau d’Oupia, never produced cheap bulk wines, but nevertheless sold off all his fruit to negotiants until the 1970s when a visitor from Burgundy encouraged him to convert to estate bottling. André liked this idea so much that, in 1973, he became one of the founding members of the Minervois AOC. Today, the estate is run by his daughter Marie-Pierre, who maintains his commitment to organic viticulture and little intervention in the cellar.

“Les Hérétiques” is an old-vine cuvée named after one of the most infamous events in Languedoc history: the Albigensian Crusade, where a Gnostic group known as the Cathars was wiped out after the murder of a Papal legate in the 13th century. Many of the castles in the region, including Chateau d’Oupia, were built during and after the battles that took place and can be viewed and visited to this day. Though produced in Minervois, Marie-Pierre uses the broader “IGP Pays d’Hérault” designation, essentially a rustic “country wine," in order to have a little more freedom with her blending and fermentation techniques.  The blend is approximately 80% Carignan most vintages, with Grenache making up the remaining 20%.

When you open this wine, you will want to decant it for up to half an hour, and do not be afraid to serve it slightly chilled! This wine delivers quintessential Minervois aromatics of wild cherry, dried strawberry, dried blackberry, fennel bulb, and herbs de Provence. Drink it now through 2028 with roast chicken with rosemary, tomato vegetable soups, or ham croquettes.