Calce is something of a natural wine-drinker’s fairy tale. We’ve woven our way through the immense Pyrénées, up and over the Catalan/French border and through the rugged Côtes Catalanes terrain. Old, gnarled Grenache vines dot the rocky valleys which encircle us. In the distance, ruins of chateaux jut out like teeth. The mountains, now behind us, loom almost celestially on the horizon, seemingly close enough to touch. 

Many millennia ago, these mountains did touch, producing striations of limestone and marl on one side and schist on the other. Calce sits squarely across all three layers, perched between the modern day Pyrénées and Corbières, a geological jewel.

For this reason, it’s somewhat of a magnet for natural wine-growers, including those—like Anjou-born Olivier Pithon— who have made a home for themselves, seeking three distinct terroirs ripe for the picking. Among the litany of winemakers who have taken up residence here, only three don’t work organically—and they are headed quickly for retirement. “For me, the word ‘competition’ doesn’t exist. Everyone respects each other, everyone respects each other’s work. The more of us there are in Calce, the more we talk about quality,” Olivier intones as we bump down Route D-18 in his sprinter van. Unlike many of the “garagiste” style wineries that line the center of town, Olivier’s cellar is outfitted just a ways outside. This gives him (along with his partner Amandine and his deputy Benjamin) easier access to a mosaic of parcels, which he proudly tours us through on this brisk fall morning.

Olivier stops the car, swings open the door, and leads us to what was the first parcel he purchased, the beginning of his twenty-three year journey in the area. A freshness permeates the air, hints of what could only be the wild herbs that grow like wildfire here. The vines are recently replanted, and between the rows are scatterings of cereals and other plant-life, which he proudly showcases. His commitment to biodynamic agriculture is evident in the lushness of these soils and the affection he shows them. “I really, really like this place because it's so quiet. There are no roads, there are no trains, there are no planes, there are no power lines.”

The identity of Calce is caked in multitudes. Olivier, too, is a melting pot of histories, ideas, insights, that have brought him here. “We are always inspired by everything that we have experienced, everything that we have worked for. Everywhere I have been, there are things that I have retained, that I have learned.” 

It was by chance that Olivier turned three when his brother started making wine. It was by chance he grew up in his cellar. It was by chance his studies led him to Bordeaux, and it was by chance he landed in Calce, to make a name for himself independent of his family.

He continues on, waxing poetic about this magical place where the mountains meet the sea, and we ask him if he feels more Catalan or French.

“I am [certainly not] Catalan, and I don’t even feel French,” he replies, without skipping a beat. “I have trouble with identity. My history, it’s not here. And I really like this region, I live here, I make wines I love. But when I go back to the Loire… I think that what you experienced in your childhood is something that flows in your veins. Up there, it’s my history. It’s my family. It’s where I spent the first twenty years of my life. There’s something about it—I can feel it…when I go back, I go home..”

And here you’re on vacation, we say. He laughs, with the joie de vivre that comes with wanting what you already have. “Yes,” he says. “I suppose I am.”

OLIVIER PITHON

Country: France

Region: Roussillon

Sub-region or Appellation: Calce

Winemaker: Olivier Pithon

Viticulture: Biodynamic

Terroir: Limestone, schist, marl

Size: 8.5 hectares

Website: www.olivierpithon.com
Instagram: @pithon.olivier

OLIVIER PITHON :: Mon P’tit Pithon Blanc

Elevage in stainless steel tanks for 7 months. Tropical and lush on the palate.

Vintage: 2022
Grapes: Grenache Gris (34%), Grenache Blanc (33%), Macabeu (33%)
Style: White Wine
ABV: 12.5%
Region: Roussillon
Sub-Region or Appellation: Calce
Viticulture: Organic
Age of Vines: ~20 years old
Soils: Marl, limestone
Yeasts: Indigenous
Vinification: Grapes are harvested across five neighbors, all certified organic or in conversion. Direct-pressed
Aging: 7 months in stainless steel
Fining or Filtering: None
Sulfur: Minimal

OLIVIER PITHON :: Mon P’tit Pithon Rouge

1/3 Grenache Noir, 1/3 Syrah, 1/3 Mourvèdre sourced from 5 organic producers in the surrounding villages. Elevage in cement and stainless steel tanks for 7 months

Vintage: 2022
Grapes: Grenache Noir (33%), Syrah (33%), Mourvèdre (33%)
Style: Red Wine
ABV: 13%
Region: Roussillon
Sub-Region or Appellation: Calce
Viticulture: Organic
Age of Vines: ~20 years old
Soils: Marl, limestone
Yeasts: Indigenous
Vinification: Grapes are harvested across five neighbors, all certified organic or in conversion. 7 days of maceration before pressing.
Aging: 7 months in cement and stainless steel
Fining or Filtering: None
Sulfur: Minimal

OLIVIER PITHON :: Laïs Blanc

60% Maccabeu, 40% Grenache Gris and Blanc from schist soils. Fresh, profound, and complex. Slight smoke on the nose, and lifted roundness on the palate.

Vintage: 2022
Grapes: 60% Macabeu, 20% Grenache Blanc, 20% Grenache Gris
Style: White Wine
ABV: 12.5%
Region: Roussillon
Sub-Region or Appellation: Calce
Viticulture: Biodynamic
Age of Vines: 50 years old
Soils: Schist
Yeasts: Indigenous
Vinification: Direct-pressing
Aging: 50% in wooden vats, 50% in barrique for 10 months
Fining or Filtering: None
Sulfur: Minimal

OLIVIER PITHON :: Laïs Rouge

40% Grenache Noir, 40% Carignan, 20% Mourvèdre from linestone, marl, schist soils. Balance of fruit and freshness, with supple tannins and a lightly spice touch.

Vintage: 2021
Grapes: 40% Grenache Noir, 40% Carignan, 20% Mourvèdre
Style: Red Wine
ABV: 13.5%
Region: Roussillon
Sub-Region or Appellation: Calce
Viticulture: Biodynamic
Age of Vines: 60 years old
Soils: Limestone, schist, marl
Yeasts: Indigenous
Vinification: Two-week maceration before pressing
Aging: Concrete
Fining or Filtering: None
Sulfur: Minimal

OLIVIER PITHON :: La D18

A stunning, age-worthy blend of Grenache Gris and Grenache Blanc. Aged in neutral vat with notes of lemon curd, almond and honey dew.

Vintage: 2021
Grapes: 40% Grenache Noir, 40% Carignan, 20% Mourvèdre
Style: White Wine
ABV: 13.5%
Region: Roussillon
Sub-Region or Appellation: Calce
Viticulture: Biodynamic
Age of Vines: 60 years old
Soils: Limestone, schist, marl
Yeasts: Indigenous
Vinification: Hand-picked & direct-pressed
Aging: 18 months in tanks
Fining or Filtering: None
Sulfur: Minimal

OLIVIER PITHON :: Le Pilou

80% old Carignan, 20% single parcel Grenache Noir from soils of clay and limestone. Aged 18 months in foudre. Drop-dead gorgeous.

Vintage: 2021
Grapes: 80% Carignan, 20% Grenache Noir
Style: Red Wine
ABV: 13.5%
Region: Roussillon
Sub-Region or Appellation: Calce
Viticulture: Biodynamic
Age of Vines: 60 years old
Soils: Limestone, schist, marl
Yeasts: Indigenous
Vinification: Hand-picked & direct-pressed
Aging: 18 months in tanks
Fining or Filtering: None
Sulfur: Minimal

OLIVIER PITHON :: MAC²

A 5 month maceration of two kinds of Muscat: Muscat d'Alexandria and Muscat à Petits Grains.

Vintage: 2021, 2022
Grapes: Muscat d’Alexandrie, Muscat Blanc à Petit Grains
Style: Orange Wine
ABV: 12.5%
Region: Roussillon
Sub-Region or Appellation: Calce
Viticulture: Organic
Age of Vines: ~20 years old
Soils: Marl, limestone
Yeasts: Indigenous
Vinification: Five months of maceration
Aging: Barrels
Fining or Filtering: None
Sulfur: Minimal