PATRICIA BOYER DOMERGUE
For Patricia Boyer Domergue, it was love at first sight, for Centeilles fulfilled all her wishes in the quality of its vines and the beauty of the place. Given the location of Clos Centeilles in the heart of the “Minervois la Livinière” appellation and the stake that the recent recognition of this first village appellation in Languedoc represented for the future, she was inspired to plunge wholeheartedly into the investment. In 2002, she was elected president of the appellation’s association, a position that she held until 2014.
After studying literature, Daniel Domergue, enthralled by winegrowing and oenology, settled in 1975 in the Minervois, first in the town of Trausse and then at Centeilles. For a time he worked alongside Patricia, while continuing with his initial profession of trainer in winegrowing and oenology. From 1995, they devoted themselves to replanting, on their original terroir the old forgotten grape varieties such as Araignan Blanc, Picpoul Noir, the Oeillade Noire and the Riveyrenc Noir, Verdal, Blanc and Gris.
From 2006, Patricia Boyer Domergue was alone at the helm of her winemaking estate. In 2016 she was joined by her daughter, Cécile. From then on, it was the time for passing on passion and expertise from the first to the second generation.
CÉCILE DOMERGUE
Cécile Domergue is a pure product of the Minervois, where she spent her whole childhood exploring fields of vines and nooks and crannies of the cellars. She quickly understood that her life was at Centeilles before deciding whether she would make wine !! After gaining a degree in biology and environment, she enrolled for a BTSA vocational degree in viticulture and oenology in Bordeaux. That work/study programme enabled her to have her first experience of vinification with the 2013 vintage, between the Graves and Sauternes appellations. “I wanted to win my spurs on a neutral and unfamiliar field.”
In search of the additional keys necessary to unlock the secrets of a vineyard, she left to do a final year studying for a degree in wine sciences in Dijon. Her training culminated with 5 months of work experience centred on the creation of a grape juice line – including studies of resistant varieties – on the Pech Rouge experimental estate (INRA-11).
After spending several years involving herself in the family estate from afar, Cécile finally joined the team on a permanent basis just before the 2016 grape harvest. She devoted the first months to promoting and marketing the wines, and then started to take part in the management of the vineyard. Day after day, at her own pace, she became a winemaker. In perfect harmony with Patricia.
