{"product_id":"domaine-de-lhorizon-lespirit-de-lhorizon-cotes-catalanes-blanc-languedoc-roussillon-france-2023","title":"Domaine de l'Horizon \"L'Espirit de l'Horizon\" Cotes Catalanes Blanc, Languedoc-Roussillon, France 2023","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFROM ROSENTHAL:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTHE WINE: \u003c\/strong\u003eMacabeu (80%), Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains (20%). Thomas’s “L’Esprit de l’Horizon” Blanc is a blend of 80% Macabeu (from 55-year-old vines) and 20% Muscat, vinified partially in concrete tank and partially in large oak (Stockinger, of course). Clocking in at a beautiful and digestible 12% alcohol, this is a wine of pure minerality—with bell-toll-clear, ringing notes of stones and powdered lime. The acidity is positively vivacious, and the finish is a long decrescendo of honey-tinged citrus fruits and deep rock. A sense of mineral-drenched extract lingers on the tongue for quite some time, almost mimicking tannin in its cling and resonance.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTHE PRODUCER: \u003c\/strong\u003eAs one might expect, making wine in Calce is no easy task. There are many ancient, untrained vines here-gnarled, soulful, wind-beaten entities well into their second century of existence, in vineyards of pure rock, stretching their weathered limbs out in all directions and making machine work impossible. Profound but stingy old vines that, even in bountiful years, offer forth barely twenty hectoliters per hectare of juice. It takes an almost superhuman level of dedication, perseverance, vision, and spirit to tend these vineyards, to forge wine from the thick blood of these imposing old vines. A tiny, maniacally dedicated group of vignerons known casually as the \"Calce school\" proudly cultivates this difficult land. A few decades ago, the visionary Gerard Gauby began steering his methodology in a more natural direction, working organically, and manipulating the wines as minimally as possibly in the cellar to allow the profound and singular terroir of Calce to express itself as arrestingly as possible. In his wake, a few very small wineries have forged a path of non-interventionism and purity of expression, and it's difficult to imagine a more intense concentration of thoughtful, committed individuals anywhere in the world of wine.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt the forefront of this movement is Thomas Teibert, founder and owner of Domaine de l'Horizon. German-born Thomas has enjoyed a successful and influential career in wine-as the winemaker for Manincor in the Alto Adige, as the export manager and long-time salesperson for the hugely regarded Stockinger cooperage in Austria, and as a consultant for a variety of small wineries in France and Italy. When he met Gerard Gauby in 2005 and became acquainted with the difficult soul of Calce, he knew immediately that he wanted to make wine there. After all, Calce provides the ultimate challenge, but provides perhaps the ultimate reward-somehow, it is a perfectly logical place for someone of Teibert's vast experience and ability to want to call home.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Domaine de l'Horizon","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47551264882944,"sku":null,"price":48.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0613\/3684\/6592\/files\/05593A33-5B6F-47A6-ADAF-AF0A10DFA317_1_201_a.jpg?v=1767732753","url":"https:\/\/patronsaintwine.com\/products\/domaine-de-lhorizon-lespirit-de-lhorizon-cotes-catalanes-blanc-languedoc-roussillon-france-2023","provider":"Patron Saint","version":"1.0","type":"link"}