At the origin of Château Tourril is an ancient gallo-roman signal tower located on the top of a hill in Languedoc proving the 2000 years history of the wine estate since roman Antiquity. The 16 hectares family vineyard is nested in a clay-limestone corrie surrounded by Mediterranean “guarrigue” that protects the vines from dominant winds and frost. It lays between the famous 1000 years old fortified city of Carcassonne and the Canal du Midi, both on UNESCO’s World Heritage list. Well shone upon and drained by rainwaters, it produces high quality AOC Minervois wines from our Syrah, Cinsault, 100 years old Carignan, Grenache and Roussanne grapes.
The estate was bought by two passionate wine entrepreneurs, Ortwin Kandler, a former Airbus pioneer, and Philippe Espeluque, owner of a local construction company. Thanks to important investments over time, the vineyard has full control of its production with modern winemaking technology and sustainable agriculture. Ortwin’s son, Stephan Kandler, has taken over the management in 2014; his experience in international high-level sporting events including America’s Cup, and high-tech projects now help the company to grow worldwide.
Our wine grower and oenologist are fully dedicated to produce authentic and quality long lasting wines: rich and concentrated reds, a light and fresh rosé, a white with a unique taste. We select the best grape lots in order to offer wines that respect the local millenary winemaking tradition, express the specificity of our soil and reflect the weather conditions.
As a result, our wines have regularly received international awards (International Wine Challenge, Canada, Decanter, Languedoc & Roussillon TOP100) and have been listed in the main wine guides and magazines: Wine Enthusiast, Wine Spectator, Guide Hachette, Bettane&Desseauve, and are already exported to the USA, Japan, Korea, Germany and China...
Wine is a pillar of gastronomy and the best way to share with others. This is why we welcome our visitors for free tasting all year round in our unique cellar located inside the tower boasting 360° views and decorated with contemporary paintings and sculptures. We like to create culinary pairings, such as the one with France’s best cheese monger Xavier, we offer new tasting formats (WIT) and we share all our news on the web and social networks.
After being the Official Supplier of the French America’s Cup team «K-Challenge» & the Extreme Sailing Series, our wines are now the Official & Exclusive Wines of the next 2016 Vendee Globe, the “Everest of sailing”, with which we share the same values of excellence, authenticity, achievement, innovation.