Mas Champart

At A Glance

**Where:** Saint-Chinian, on limestone hills about two kilometres from the town, towards Villespassans.
**Vineyards:** 16 hectares within a 25-hectare property, between 210 and 300 metres.
**Ground:** Southern Saint-Chinian clay, limestone and sandstone, rather than the appellation’s northern schist.
**Key grapes:** Terrace-grown Mourvèdre and 60- to 110-year-old Carignan, alongside Syrah and Grenache.
**Start here:** Causse du Bousquet 2023, a dry Saint-Chinian red with dark fruit, herbs, chewy tannin and fresh acidity.

The Producer

Mas Champart makes red, white and rosé wines in Saint-Chinian, in the Languedoc’s Hérault department. Isabelle and Matthieu Champart began by buying vine parcels in 1976, then recovered abandoned old vines before making their first wine in 1988. The estate now has a new, unnamed team continuing that work across 16 hectares. Its most clearly documented reds move from the vat-aged, peppery Côte d’Arbo to the Syrah-led Causse du Bousquet and the Mourvèdre-led Clos de la Simonette.

Place

The estate sits on limestone hills towards Villespassans, about two kilometres from Saint-Chinian. Saint-Chinian is not one uniform landscape: Mas Champart lies in its southern sector, where clay, limestone and sandstone replace the schist found farther north. That distinction matters in the vineyard. Carignan on limestone is described by the estate as more fruity and delicate, while clay brings a livelier expression; the resulting reds can combine Mediterranean fruit with acidity and grip rather than simply broad ripeness.

Soil And Site

Vines stand between 210 and 300 metres among scrubland, pine forest and olive trees. Mourvèdre occupies a substantial part of the property, planted on southeast-facing terraces cut into steep slopes. Its slow ripening supplies the ripe, firm frame used in Clos de la Simonette and in blends. Old Carignan, with vines reported between 60 and 110 years old, brings another site-sensitive element: fruit on limestone, more animation on clay. Terraces also require upkeep, and the estate restores walls, paths and dry-stone features after harvest.

Story

The first parcels were bought in 1976, when Isabelle and Matthieu Champart began assembling abandoned old vines. For twelve years the work was first in the ground: acquiring parcels, farming them and bringing old vineyards back into use. In 1988 they vinified their own wine for the first time. That shift put the estate’s separate limestone, clay and terrace sites into bottles under one cellar’s direction, laying the foundation for a range in which Causse du Bousquet, Côte d’Arbo and Clos de la Simonette take different grape and ageing routes.

Vineyards And Cellar

Mas Champart farms organically and uses compost or manure in Mediterranean soils affected by drought and heat. Red grapes are hand-harvested, then fermented with natural yeasts in concrete and enamelled-steel vats. Gentle extraction and three to five weeks in vat draw colour and tannin without treating the reds as heavy wines by default. During vat ageing, the estate does not clarify and filters lightly; fruit, acidity and earthy detail remain part of the finished texture.

Causse du Bousquet then takes a longer path. Its general blend is Syrah-dominant, with Grenache, Mourvèdre and Carignan from low-yielding parcels mainly on the limestone plateau. About two-thirds ages in Burgundian barrels of differing ages and one-third in vats, with bottling after 20 to 24 months. Barrel ageing adds breadth and spice to the Syrah-led fruit, while the vat portion keeps the limestone-grown fruit and tannin in view.

Wines

Côte d’Arbo is the red for immediate fruit and pepper. It is the estate’s vat-aged cuvée, and its stated profile is fruity, peppery and easy to drink, with length rather than overt oak. Its role is direct: supple Mediterranean red fruit, spice and a less barrel-shaped texture.

Causse du Bousquet works on a wider scale. Syrah leads a blend of Grenache, Mourvèdre and Carignan from limestone-plateau parcels, with barrel and vat ageing spread across nearly two years. The producer describes it as concentrated without heaviness, a table wine with sufficient structure to keep. It is the range’s clearest meeting point of dark fruit, acidity, tannin and slow élevage.

Clos de la Simonette is Mourvèdre-led. Mourvèdre’s slow ripening on the estate’s terraces brings power and ripe fruit, while Carignan contributes freshness. The bottle therefore occupies a firmer, more sun-shaped position than Côte d’Arbo, with freshness keeping the weight from becoming blunt.

In The Glass

Causse du Bousquet 2023 is dry and medium-bodied. Dark plum and blackberry lead the aroma, followed by branches, earth and lavender. On the palate, medium-high acidity keeps the dark fruit moving, while chewy tannins give the wine a substantial, grainy hold. The finish is balanced and slightly earthy rather than sweet or overtly woody.

The 2023 bottling is listed with Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Carignan and Cinsault. Its dark fruit and herbal notes fit that Mediterranean blend, while the acidity and tannin make sense of a red drawn from hillside sites and handled with gentle extraction. Serve it with food that can meet the grip: lamb, grilled aubergine or a slow-cooked bean dish.

A Bottle To Understand It

Choose Causse du Bousquet 2023. It is a Saint-Chinian red built around Syrah, with Grenache, Mourvèdre, Carignan and Cinsault listed for this vintage. Dark plum, blackberry, lavender, earth and dried branch aromas lead into a dry, medium-bodied palate with medium-high acidity and chewy tannin. It comes first because it joins the estate’s limestone-plateau fruit, mixed Mediterranean grapes and long barrel-and-vat élevage in one bottle, while remaining practical at the table.

Anecdote

By 1995, Mas Champart had been working from a small cellar since its beginnings. The property’s steep slope offered a way to change that arrangement. The estate built a semi-underground cellar into the slope, using the terrain already under its vineyards rather than adding a detached working space elsewhere. The new cellar arrived seven years after Isabelle and Matthieu Champart vinified their first wine and nearly two decades after they bought their first parcels. It became the place where hand-harvested red grapes could be fermented in concrete and enamelled-steel vats, then kept through the longer ageing required for wines such as Causse du Bousquet.

Final Word

Mas Champart is worth seeking out for Saint-Chinian seen from its southern ground: limestone, clay and sandstone; old Carignan; terrace-grown Mourvèdre; and reds whose fruit, acidity and tannin remain visible through cellar ageing. Start with Causse du Bousquet when a dry, earthy red with dark fruit and firm grip suits the table.

At A Glance

The Producer

Place

Soil And Site

Story

Vineyards And Cellar

Wines

In The Glass

A Bottle To Understand It

Anecdote

Final Word

Sources

Where to go next