Terres des Templiers - Winery

Terre des Templiers, a Truly Unique Winery Built in 12th and 13th Centuries

Terre des Templiers was built between the 12th and 13th centuries. Nowadays, the winery of Terre des Templiers, at the eastern end of the Pyrenées, is one of the most important wine producers of the region today. Over the years, winemaker Laurent Barreda and cellar manager Jauffrey Canier have created something very special and certainly unique.

Revived Vineyards by the Knights Templar

The Phoenicians were the first to plant vines in this rugged part of southwest France. When the Knights Templar returned from the Crusades in the 14th century, they revived the early vine varieties. They were skilled farmers and used their knowledge to improve winemaking. Many of their practices are still used today.

Terre des Templiers and its Terroir

The area of Terre des Templiers includes vineyard sites in the towns of Port-Vendres, Collioure, Banyuls-sur-Mer and Cerbere. The soil is rocky shale and the terroir on the Côte de Vermeille is steep and challenging as some of the slopes are 450 metres above sea level. The weather also presents its own challenges since there is often heavy rain here. The Knights tackled the problem by creating terraces into the slopes. The mistral and tramontane winds are dry and stop mold developing among the vines. Terre des Templiers produces wines in several appellations, Collioure, Banyuls, and Banyuls Grand Cru. They also make a range of exquisite organic wines. The Banyuls are sweet wines, made from Grenache Gris, Blanc and Noir grapes. Rich and aromatic, they have notes of peach, pear and plum. The red, white and rosé wines at Terre des Templiers have distinct mineralilty from the shale soil. Grenache Noir, Gris and Blanc, Colllioure wines use Vermentino, Roussanne, Marsanne, Mouvedre and Syrah grown on the estate.

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