Arrogant Frog puts up vineyard resistance

By Andrew Catchpole

Published: 17 February, 2023

Leading Languedoc producer Jean-Claude Mas is set to bring his first fungus resistant varietal wine to market, with the unveiling of a Souvignier Gris ‘Résistant’ at Wine Paris.

Bottled under a variant of the Arrogant Frog label, the Domaines Paul Mas wine from the 2022 vintage is the result of a 10-year project working with disease resistant hybrids that can better withstand oidium and mildew.

Along with Souvignier Gris, other PIWI grapes – a German abbreviation for European vines crossed with fungus-resistant American vines – that have caught this producer’s attention and been planted include Muscaris, Floréal and Prior.

“In the Languedoc we always look for innovative things, I have always stretched myself,” Mas explained to Harpers.

“This has been 10 years in development and little by little we made progress with these varietals, some good, some not so good, and we have found some very interesting varieties.”

Having converted the 1,000ha of Domaines Paul Mas vines to organic, while working toward this goal with another 2,000ha of grower vines that the estate draws upon, Mas said that the resistant varieties could help speed the estate’s path to greater sustainability.

“If you are organic you have to spray immediately after the rain, several times a year, and I calculated that represents, on an estate of 100ha, 3,500 litres of fuel, which is a huge carbon impact,” said Mas.

“This is about developing self-immunity with the vines, that is the fast track. By having a clever approach and respectful approach in our vineyards we have managed to get the vines more resistant themselves, but we need to work [on both paths] to progress faster.

Speaking of the challenge of introducing ‘new’ resistant varieties more widely to the wine drinking public, Mas suggested that “we have to go back to the route of cuvées” and rather than solely focusing on varieties, use blends to gradually introduce the new names and profiles.

A Souvignier Gris/Rolle (Vermentino) or Souvignier Gris/Sauvignon Blanc blend is a likely possibility.

“It’s a revolution in progress,” he added. “The trade should also support producers working with resistant varieties – it’s a major innovation, you need support from good people.

Harpers understands that talks regarding a listing for the Souvignier Gris are advanced with a major multiple in the UK – the estate’s biggest export territory.

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