Saint Dominique Le Merlot de la Chapelle 2022 is a Southern French red wine made from 100% Merlot from the Hérault. The wine comes from Aniane, near Montpellier, where La Chapelle is considered one of the oldest wine estates in the village. Behind the estate are D. Vialard and E. Hosteins, with Danielle Vialard as an oenologist with experience in the Médoc at Château Cissac. This gives this Merlot a beautiful combination of a Bordeaux background and ripe Southern French suppleness.
Le Merlot de la Chapelle comes from Aniane, a village in the Hérault with a strong wine history.
• Location / Origin: The vineyards are located in Aniane, in the south of France. This area is known for its warm location, garrigue, and wooded surroundings.
• Soil: The soil consists of Miocene terrain, with limestone, sandstone, and gravel up to about 10 m deep. This well-draining soil helps the vines root deeper and gives the wine structure.
• Vineyard: The Merlot comes from a 2-hectare vineyard. This limited scale suits the focused, single-varietal style of this Chapelle range.
• Village with character: Aniane gained fame when local wine producers successfully resisted Mondavi's clearing of over 100 hectares of forest land. This story underscores how strongly the village is connected to its own wine identity.
This red wine is made entirely from Merlot.
• 100% Merlot – Hérault: Merlot gives this wine its supple texture, round fruitiness, and approachable structure. In the warm Hérault, the grape takes on a riper, fuller style with red fruit, dark fruit, and soft tannins.
Vinification is focused on fruit purity, freshness, and a precise tannin structure.
• Harvest & Selection: The grapes are hand-harvested and selected. This ensures that only ripe and healthy fruit can be used for this 100% Merlot.
• Fermentation: The wine undergoes a long vinification with temperature control. This helps to keep the fruit intense and pure, while the tannins gain sufficient structure.
• Aging: The wine ages in stainless steel tanks. This keeps the focus on pure fruit, freshness, and the soft roundness of Merlot, without obvious oak influence.
• Production: Approximately 10,000 bottles of this wine are produced. This makes Le Merlot de la Chapelle a small, distinct cuvée within the range.
