La Grange De Quatre Sous

Hildegard originates from Switzerland where she used to work as a restorer to old monuments. She first visited Languedoc during the seventies with her first husband and fell in love with the domaine, La Grange de Quatre Sous, located on a limestone plateau above Assignan in the Montagne Noire, where vineyards qualify for the St Chinian appellation.

The place was almost abandoned, and a lot of work needed to be done. After renovating the buildings, they decided to replant the vineyards in 1983. Farming at La Grange de Quatre Sous has always been sustainable, and the official organic certification came in 1999.

Hildegard split with her ex-husband at that time and continued to run her 8ha estate on her own. She has since remarried to Alioune Diop who originates from the Cameroons and is now helping her with the day to day work. She is also part of a group called Vinifilles, an association of 18 female winegrowers in Languedoc-Roussillon (including Sophie Guiraudon from Clos de l’Anhel) who share views and ideas.

From the start, she has chosen to work with grape varieties outside the AC, notably with the unique and extremely rare petite arvine white grape, arguably Switzerland’s finest variety. Her red wine Garsinde is made with a good proportion of malbec, a grape that thrives in a hot climate.