Château Canet Minervois Rouge is a fruity and full-bodied red wine, with notes of blackcurrents, cherry, and brambles, typical of the Syrah grape. Its velvety tannins and hint of spice make it the perfect accompaniment to stews, grilled meats, feathered game, and cheeses. As the locals do, pair it with a classic Cassoulet with duck, and for a truly authentic experience pretend its sunny and warm outside!

About the Producer

Château Canet was founded in 1126 when the Lord Bernand de Canet built his Château and gave his name to the surrounding land. In 2007, Victoria and Floris Lemstra with their children Oliver and Charlotte, landed at Château Canet in pursuit of their dream to build a home and share their passion for wine and hospitality.

The 115-hectare estate in the Minervois, is nestled against the ‘Balcons de l’Aude’, close to the medieval town of Carcassonne. This terroir, rich in limestone and clay, benefits from a Mediterranean climate and from the influence of two very different winds, the ‘Cers’, a cool wind coming from the Atlantic and the ‘Marin’, a warm wind coming from the Mediterranean. This climate makes it possible to produce fresh, elegant white and rich and fruity red wines.

Since 2003, Canet has followed the ecological specifications of ‘Terra Vitis’ and has recently been certified HVE level 4 (the highest certification by the French state). At the same time, they go one step further with techniques such as ‘Sexual Confusion’ in the vineyards which involves the use of biological pheromones to control destructive moths, instead of treating them with neurotoxic pesticides.

Vineyard and Winery

The grapes are harvested at night at a cool temperature and are kept cool (8°C) for 7 days in their fermentation vat in order to extract lots of fruit flavours and colour while leaving the harsh tannins in the skins. For this pre-fermentation maceration a technique called Bio-Protection is used. Fermentation is for 20 days at a maximum temperature of 27°C. following by a maturing period of 12 months. Only 15% of this Minervois is matured in oak in order to enhance the complexity without adding heavy oak flavours. The barrels used are 1 year old barrels from the Vosges which are particularly adapted to the Syrah grape.