Cave de l’Ormarine Picpoul de Pinet Sélection is a crowd pleaser but a very well made one. Delicately perfumed, ripe melon fruit on the nose. The palate is weighty and ripe but remains fresh and saline. Classic Picpoul - appealing ripe fruit with a fresh saline lift on the finish.

Perfect on its own but if you like them the you should try Cave de l’Ormarine Picpoul de Pinet Sélection with oysters, mussels, and grilled fish.

About the region and producer

Cave de l'Ormarine is an award-winning co-operative which produces wines from the tiny Pinet de Picpoul appellation in the Hérault. The Ormarine cellar was established in 1922 when vignerons from Pinet joined forces and formed a winegrowers' association. Today, the Cave de l'Ormarine is a conglomeration of five separate co-operatives from across the Hérault, each with their own specific terroirs and styles of wine. It is proud to have 470 members farming more than 2,500 hectares of vines.

Its flagship Picpoul wines are fresh and terroir-driven, and hugely influenced by both the Mediterranean Sea and the Etang de Thau, which act as a thermal regulator for the vineyards. In fact, it is said of Picpoul that, "Son terroir, c'est la mer (Its terroir is the sea)."

Cave de l'Ormarine has made significant investment in its winery, and prides itself on the high quality standard and traceability of its grapes.

Vineyard and Wine Making

Cave de l'Ormarine's vineyards lie at approximately 40 metres above sea level on a chalky clay plateau, rich in Cretaceous limestone and quartz. The vineyards lie to the North of the Lac de Thau and slope towards it. Cyril Payon oversees the production and grapes are carefully selected and picked at different times to capture different flavour profiles. They are de-stemmed and macerated on their skins followed by fermentation for approximately 2 weeks without malolactic fermentation.

Cave de L’Ormarine attaches great importance to the protection of its environment and its vineyards. From 2013, its members set up a pheromone-based mating-disruption programme to naturally eliminate insect pests from the vines without chemical treatments. As a co-operative, it has decided to move its vineyards towards organic farming. Some of its members have been doing this since 2011, already allowing it to offer a range of wines sourced from certified organic grapes.

Cave de l’Ormarine obtained Terra Vitis certification in 2018, highlighting its involvement in sustainable and integrated viticulture and its respect for nature, humans and wine. Furthermore, since December 2016, it has been certified as IFS FOOD Version 6.1 (International Featured Standards), an internationally standardised framework for food quality and safety management.