Domaine Sant Armettu
Domaine Sant Armettu
In the early 1960's, Lucien Seroin left Algeria and settled in Southern Corsica near the Bay of Propriano. He arrived with viticultural know-how passed down from previous generations and a worthy partner supplied by the future generation, his son Paul. Together they planted grapes and developed a vineyard in the northern area of the Sarténe wine appellation. They eventually owned 11 hectares and focused on growing fruit and selling it to the local coop.
Fast forward to 1995 - Paul is running the vineyard and his son Gilles is working in wine as well, but as a wine merchant. The local coop that buys the fruit that Paul grows is closing. Gilles sees an opportunity and returns home to take over the vineyard and create something new from what his father and grandfather have established. He looks to history for a name. There is a story about an old hermit who used to live in the area. This hermit was a renowned herbalist and healer who was eventually sainted. The attention to nature and the pace of a hermit connected perfectly with Gilles' ideas about wine and wine making - so Domaine Sant Armettu was born.
Gilles took the 11 hectares of vines, and from them created one of the top domaines in Corsica. It is now 40 hectares of organically farmed vines, many of them local grapes that had fallen out of fashion - grapes such as Rimenese, Genovese, Biancu Ghjentile, Minustellu, and Aleaticu. Bringing these grapes back from obscurity is one way Sant Armettu is knitting together the past and the future. Another way is by passing on generational knowledge and employing the passion of youth. Gilles has recently been joined by his daughter Jeanne and his son Guillaume. We are excited to see what kind of history the future will bring.
