Livre Vins de Cassis

Une palette de couleurs et de senteurs

Le bleu profond de la mer, le blanc des calanques, le vert des vignes alignées sur la plaine ou sur les restanques, les pinèdes, les buissons fleuris et odorants de la garrigue avec leurs bouffées d’arômes épicés, les routes qui serpentent vers les crêtes, la verticalité des falaises rosies par la lumière du soleil couchant – Cassis offre au regard une symphonie de formes et de couleurs qui séduit l’œil et le nez. Une exceptionnelle diversité sur un si petit territoire. Cette diversité se retrouve aussi dans le patrimoine bâti – maisons de pêcheurs, hôtels par- ticuliers, « campagnes », bastides... et dans les sols, tantôt calcaires, tantôts argileux, tantôt marneux, plus ou moins caillouteux. Le Cassis d’aujourd’hui sait faire la part entre le tourisme, qui multiplie par six la population les mois d’été, avec les activités qui l’accompagnent – des hébergements à la restauration en passant par les promenades en mer, les écoles de plongée, les randonnées, etc. – les autres activités comme la viticulture, et la préservation de la nature, si généreuse. Et de cette diversité, sans doute, naît l’harmonie, l’équilibre – un équilibre qui n’a rien de statique, mais qui, comme une balance, soupèse les contrastes. Logiquement, les vins expriment cet équilibre et cette diversité. C’est l’exception Cassis.

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A palette of colours and scents.

All about diversity…

The deep blue of the sea, the white of the rocky creeks, the green of the vines stretching in rows across the plain or along stone-walled terraces, the pine woods, the flowering shrubs of the garrigue with their spicy aromas, the roads that snake towards the peaks, and the vertical white cliffs tinted pink by the light of the setting sun... the symphony of shapes and colours that are Cassis form a sensory delight. For such a small area, its diversity is quite exceptional. The same diversity is there in its built heritage, from its fishermen’s cottages to aristocratic mansions and country houses. And in its soils, which range from limestone to clay and marls with varying degrees of stoniness. Cassis today has achieved an equitable balance between tourism, which increases its population by a factor of six during the summer months, and the business activities that accompany it from accommodation and catering to boat trips, diving schools and hiking, and other forms of economic activity, such as viticulture and nature conservation. It is undoubtedly this diversity that is the origin of its harmony and balance: a balance that is never static, but which, like a scale, weighs one contrast against another. Logically, its wines reflect and express this balance and diversity. And that is what makes Cassis exceptional.

The diversity of the varietals grown (six white and four red) in accordance with the proportions imposed by the appellation rules to respect the painstakingly constructed profile of Cassis wines, and according to the soil types. Wines here are blended to create not only richness and symbiosis, but also diversity. And then there is the diversity of the appellation: Le Plan, Les Janots and Cap Canaille – Charlemagne. Although all three share the same dominant presence of limestone, there are distinct differences between them: the vines grown close to Cap Canaille occupy the steepest and driest slopes (the most hardy varietals, such as Clairette and Bourboulenc, are the most commonly planted here), while those in Les Janots are grown on gentler slopes, are less exposed to maritime influences, and have access to the largest reserves of water: Marsanne excels here. The most northerly area – Le Plan – is the most diverse in terms of soils, with a sequence of clays, marls and limestone. Almost all the varietals specified by the appellation are grown here. But the majority of wine-growers have parcels of vines in all three terroirs to maximise the richness of their blends. And finally there is the diversity of the 12 estates themselves, each of which uses the bricks of the terroir and the mortar of the varietals to build their own distinctive wines and achieve the essence of Cassis: the elegantly aromatic nose, neither too

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