History
The modern history of Clos d'Agon began in 1987, when Philippe Dambois and his wife Danièle Bagon bought the property. Advised by André Crespy and Pierre Galet, professors at the University of Montpellier, and after a detailed study of the area's soil and climate, they decided to grub up the old vines and plant new varieties especially suited to making quality wines.
After that stage, six Swiss friends with interests in the wine world bought the estate in 1998. They built the current winery, extended the vineyard to 16 hectares and took advice from the renowned winemaker Peter Sisseck.
Today, two of those six friends, Alfons Niedhart and Juerg Maurer, own Bodegas Clos d'Agon, and since 2008, winemaker Miguel Coronado has held technical management.
A winery that blends into its surroundings
The winery is a modern building that blends into its setting, loosely inspired by the work of Piet Mondrian. Peter Sisseck was closely involved in its operational design to make the workflow as rational as possible.
For example, the grape reception area sits on an upper level, allowing gravity to be used in almost every stage of the process. The cellar uses only temperature control. The fermentation rooms have temperature-controlled steel tanks, and the ageing room and warehouse are fully air-conditioned. Construction began in 2002 and was completed in 2006.
The vineyard
The vineyard lies where Les Gavarres begin, surrounded by the hills of this nature area, which form a kind of amphitheatre facing the sea. It has a Mediterranean climate influenced by the Tramontane wind (now softened) and by Mediterranean breezes, visible from every plot. The vines grow on clay and slate soils, mainly on a north–south axis, at altitudes of 40 to 140 metres. The red varieties are Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Merlot, and the whites are Viognier, Marsanne and Roussanne. Some plots have recently been replanted with red, white and grey Garnacha.
