Nasze wina

It was in 1991 when we were clearing the parcel of land to plant the GROS MANSENG and the PETIT MANSENG, that a coin of the effigy of the Roman emperor Antoninus the Pius came to light.

Born in Nimes in the year 86 AD, he was adopted by the Emperor Hadrian, whom he succeeded in 138AD. Praised for his wisdom and his excellent administration of the Empire, he returned to cultivate his land at every opportunity, far from the tumult and ambitions of office. He died, mourned by all, in the year 161AD.

Together with Hadrian, he is credited with the building of the Pont du Gard Aqueduct. After his reign, he was so respected, that many of his successors bore his name.

This unearthed coin bore witness to the existence of an agricultural life on the Lectoure plain for 20 centuries, and symbolises the rebirth of the Arton vines after the disasters of phylloxera at the end of the 19th C.

Thanks to the perseverance of Patrick and Victoire de Montal, the vines at Arton, with its gentle south-facing slopes, have found their roots in a well drained and clean soil of chalk and clay, which we call ‘perusquet’, and which always produces very characteristic wines.