Floriane and Olivier AZAN purchased the Château Petit Roubié in 1981 and converted to organic farming in 1995. In 2012 the are the only certified organic estate in the appellation! They have 147 acres of vines and produce a range of AOC and Vins de Pays white wines and Vin de Pays red and rosé wines but the Picpoul de Pinet is the most important production. It is known and loved for its acidity, body, and flavor.
In Gallo-Roman times the village of Pinet in southern France, near the Via Domitia, was probably a villa and a group of barns. It was then called Pinetum. Prior to the Roman conquest the Via Domitia was known as the Heracliian Way, the original route that connected Spain to the Rhône Valley and on to Italy.
Picpoul de Pinet is a sub-appellation of the AOC Languedoc, which runs along the southern French coast, separated from the Mediterranean Sea by the Bassin de Thau, a lagoon 3 miles wide by 11 miles long. There are approximately 25 Domaines in the 3000 acre Picpoul appellation producing full-bodied, citrus-scented white wines exclusively from the Picpoul grape variety. The weather is typically Mediterranean; moderate winters, low rainfall and hot summers but sea breezes can limit the daytime temperatures and the lagoon helps protect from wide evening temperature variations. The Picpoul grape itself tends to ripen late and the warm, humid sea breeze helps it mature in auspicious conditions.
The region of Picpoul de Pinet has been inhabited for centuries. The land is rich with rocky soil and hillsides, and the Picpoul grape has been grown near the lagoon since the 1600s. Some vineyards have kept the same boundaries and the same exposure to this day.
