Sarrat de Goundy At a glance
- Family estate under its own label: 2000 (Olivier is the third generation)
- Location: Armissan, AOC La Clape, on the limestone massif above Narbonne
- Winemaker: Olivier Calix, who runs the estate with his mother Rosy
- Terracotta: Experimenting since 2013; around twenty-five 155-litre jars for the reds
- Appellation: La Clape: a standalone AOC only since 2015, with just 778 hectares of vines in the whole appellation
- Signature Style: Juicy, vibrant wines shaped by the sea wind and the limestone, with a salty citrus tang in the whites
The place
La Clape is one of those very young appellations - standalone AOC only since 2015 - and yet exceptional wine has been made here since Roman times. Before that, actually: there is evidence of vines on this rock from the 6th century BC.
The massif itself is the reason the wines taste the way they do. It was an island. The Phoenicians called it Lykia, the Romans Insula Laci, and it only joined the mainland during the Middle Ages when silt carried down by the Aude closed the channel. Some sources still described it as an island as late as 1688. It is a 150 square-kilometre block of Cretaceous limestone, so permeable there is no permanent surface water on it at all - over 3,000 hours of sunshine a year, under 600mm of rain, and thirteen named winds crossing it, chiefly the dry north-westerly Cers and the humid southerly Marin. Just 778 hectares of vines in the whole appellation.
The family
Olivier Calix is the third generation. His grandfather’s line is less well-documented, but his father Claude bought his first vineyard in 1966 and went on to run the Armissan co-operative; the family estate under its own label was created in 2000. Olivier spent eight years in Barcelona and Bilbao studying art history and working with living artists before coming home in 2003, and he says that time still helps him appreciate the freedom and the pleasure of making his own wine. He runs the estate now with his mother Rosy.
His passion for the land gives him a deep respect for the living ecosystem he sees himself as guardian of. This is a harsh climate - hot, salty winds, rocky hills - and Olivier is in single-minded pursuit of the good and the beautiful. He has also been experimenting with terracotta since 2013, and now has around twenty-five 155-litre jars for the reds.
The story behind the names
Le Planteur is named after Olivier’s father Claude. Olivier watched him as a child, planting those vines by hand into hardened rock, on a hillside looking down the valley to the sea. Les Marins takes its name from the sea wind itself - the warm, humid southerly that comes off the Gulf of Lion, sometimes at over 160km/h - and it is the wind that carries the salt onto the grapes. Pour a glass and you can taste it, as a salty citrus tang on the finish.
And a fact for the road: the massif has a flower that grows nowhere else on Earth. Centaurea corymbosa, the Centaurée de la Clape, occupies about 3 square kilometres in six known populations. It lives for four or five years, flowers once, and dies. No new population has been found since monitoring began in 1994, and it is in decline. Around 400 sheep graze between the vines over winter. This is a very small, very specific place.
The wines
Olivier’s wines are new to us, and we're excited to show the following:
Sarrat de Goundy, Les Saisonniers Rouge 2025
£14.50
Grenache, Syrah · IGP Aude
The red to pull when you don’t want to think about the wine, you just want it to be goooood. Bursting with fruits and juiciness, it will become your go-to glugger, the happy lubricant to the day’s adventure.
Sarrat de Goundy, Les Marins 2024
£15.50
Bourboulenc, Grenache Blanc, Viognier, Macabeo, Roussanne · AOC La Clape
Pick this up expecting a solid, gluggable wine from a good place, and that’s what you get. But serve it chilled, not too much, and spend a bit more time with it and there are so many components weaving together: pear and sweet pastry on the nose, apricot in syrup on the palate, and a salty citrus tang on the finish. Such a good wine for the money.
Sarrat de Goundy, Le Planteur Blanc 2025
£20
Bourboulenc, Roussanne, Grenache Blanc, Macabeo · AOC La Clape
A step up from Les Marins, with 9 months in older oak and stirring of the fine lees. There is a core of power to this wine, a drive and tension, pushing the pear and star anise flavours outwards. Good with food: think tacos, pizza, ramen or chicken burgers.
Sarrat de Goundy, Le Planteur Rouge 2024
£20
Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre · AOC La Clape
A homage to Olivier’s dad Claude, aged in oak for 12 months, 30% new. There is a lot going on here, a lot of spicy dark fruits, a crunchy earthiness, garrigue herbs in the back.
Sarrat de Goundy, La Combe au Louves 2023
£32
Mourvèdre, Syrah, Grenache, Carignan · AOC La Clape
One parcel of old vines, it’s a big and bold red delivered with super silky tannins and a spicy structure. A beautiful big wine, and the Languedoc answer to a bold Puglian red like our beloved Settabraccia.
Where to taste them
Sarrat de Goundy, Les Saisonniers Rouge 2025 is pouring by the glass in our bars until 4th November
Browse the full Languedoc and Roussillon range, or take the six-bottle case - one wine from each of our six growers, including Sarrat de Goundy, Clos del Rey and Domaine de Cambis.
Leave a comment (all fields required)