Domaine Bernatas

Domaine Bernatas

An unusual story for these two brothers, Jérôme and Stéphane Bernatas, who launched their estate on the terroirs of Limoux in 2018. Jérôme was a journalist at Le Parisien and Stéphane ran a press distribution company. They immediately adopted biodynamics to respect and care for the environment in their charge, and to let the terroir speak through Mauzac, Chenin and Chardonnay in particular. Wines of wild personality, at once rich, fresh and precise. A career change that has already paid off, bravo!

From journalist to winemaker, the story of Domaine Bernatas

Both from the press world, the Bernatas brothers decided to move into the world of wine. After business studies in Toulouse, Stéphane joined the family press distribution company in Rodez, Aveyron, as its head. Jérôme, after studying international business in Paris and Newcastle, built a career in journalism at Le Parisien. Avid travellers with a particular passion for Argentina, they developed a whole new curiosity about the world around them. Stéphane then sold the newsagent and Jérôme left Le Parisien to start a new life around their shared passion: becoming winemakers. Together they returned to their native Aude, at the foot of the Pyrenees.
Trained by a renowned winemaker, Frédéric Palacios of Mas de mon Père in Arzens, they learned to prune vines and discovered the alchemy of wine. In 2018 they bought Jean Cancian's 6.5 hectares of vines, on the heights of Magrie and Castelreng. Domaine Bernatas was born.

The terroir of Limoux

Near Limoux in the Aude, the estate covers 7 hectares at 250 to 410 metres above sea level, between Magrie, Castelreng and Digne-d'Amont. Most of the vines face north. They spread over six hillside plots, on clay-limestone soils and rolled pebbles that give each plot a distinct personality. The soils also retain exceptional freshness, giving the wines remarkable tension.
Limoux is one of the oldest vineyards in France. It enjoys plenty of sunshine and sufficient, well-distributed rainfall.
The Limoux appellation particularly excels at white wine. As a side note, the first sparkling wine in history is said to have been made here.
Domaine Bernatas grows typical grapes: Chenin, the emblematic Mauzac and Chardonnay for whites; Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Aramon for reds. The wines are mostly whites in the Limoux appellation.

Biodynamics at the heart of Domaine Bernatas

In 2019, Jérôme Bernatas earned a professional farm-management qualification at the CFPPA in Beaune, in his words a wonderful place of encounters and learning, where he discovered a whole new approach to vine work.
"Let nature do the work" is the brothers' motto. Biodynamics aims to guarantee the health of soils and plants for healthy food, taking into account the rhythms of nature, lunar cycles and the influence of the stars.
On the estate, the vines grow on living soil, thanks to compost, medicinal plants, cow manure and silica, which improve fertility and soil biodiversity. Work is done by hand and follows lunar and solar cycles, in the vineyard and in the cellar.
No pesticides, no (or few) added sulphites, no chemical inputs and native yeasts: this method best preserves the typicity and flavours of the terroir.

The cuvées of the Bernatas brothers

The estate mainly produces natural whites within the appellation, from grapes typical of Limoux, as well as some red. Wines that express a terroir, straight and close to nature.
La Petite Cordillère, named after the Pyrenean mountain range, is a 100% Chenin with a perfect balance of aromatic power and freshness.
L'Outre Blanc is a 100% Chardonnay in AOP Limoux, from the Peilhagon plot in Digne-d'Amont, at 260 metres above sea level. It shows incredible freshness.
M et Nous, 100% Mauzac, Limoux's emblematic grape, undergoes a light maceration: the grapes from the Pla plot are vinified like a red, creating this atypical orange wine with perfectly balanced complexity and richness (without heaviness).
Among the reds, Religare blends Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Aramon: a fresh, crunchy wine with lovely energy. Regarde le Silence, 100% Merlot from the Fount Auly plot in Magrie, brings plenty of energy and freshness.

Natural wines just as we like them, perfectly expressing their terroir.