Changing the trend of Languedoc-Roussillon: Marius Long shakes up the southern French region with Sense Pressa
Marius Long is the new kid on the block in Padern in Languedoc-Rousillon, southern France, and conjures up charmingly dark-spiced, Mediterranean natural wines without conventions. Inspired by numerous internships in different wineries and regions, the studied biologist returned to his home in Padern and started his project Sense Pressa on 3 hectares.
Padern is a small commune in Occitania northwest of Perpignan and almost a stone's throw away from Domaine de l'Horizon and Matassa. The 20-year-old Garnacha and Syrah vines, rooted in loamy Jura limestone, are farmed organically and with meticulous manual labour. Everything is done by hand, a man and his land, not more.
The vinification process at Sense Pressa is simple: hand harvesting, spontaneous fermentation and matured on the lees in steel tanks until the natural wines are bottled unfiltered and without additions. Due to the hot temperatures and the high fruit extract, Marius initiates a short, 3-7 day whole cluster maceration to avoid over-extraction - so the wine retains its drinking-animating juiciness. Garnacha and Syrah in a different way, without any heaviness, but still with the dark, spicy charm of southern France that we love.