Le Clos Hirissou

Situated on the slopes of the Sénouillac commune in the heart of the Gaillac Premières Côtes appellation, it has been a family estate since 1860. Planted with vines from 1860 to 1980, it is a high hill of the Gaillacois region. It was Alice and Pierre Hirissou who really understood the potential of this land in wine production. Alice was a schoolteacher in a small hamlet known for its magnificent château: Mauriac, 5 km far from Le Clos . As for Pierre, he grew vines and made his own wine. He devoted his life to Senouillac, serving as mayor from 1971 to 1995. He was passionate about writing and poetry.

When I created the Clos Hirissou logo, it seemed essential to pay tribute to him.
This hand represents a farmer's hand, because hands that are hollowed and worn by time inspire him a lot in his writings. The soaring falcon is a reminder of my passion for peregrine falcons. Anecdotally, the Clos is a fabulous place to fly falcons, because it's on top of a hill and exposed to the 4 winds. Having fallen in love with this historic place over the past 10 years, I decided in 2017, with the agreement of my cousins, to write a new page about this magical place. Clos Hirissou was born.

Vine & Wine

Starting from a virgin place where there was no vine 20 years ago, I wanted to create a vineyard , truly inspiring my own identity.

Too often, wine lovers want to visit our wine cellar and see the wine vats where the wine is made. I hope that in the future you will come here and also be able to learn about our life in the vineyard. That’s why I've designed this Clos as a colorful painting for others purposes.

The vine growing is a monoculture. So I wanted to introduce other crops and vegetation to create a biotope, encouraging biodiversity. That will enhance your desire to discover our Clos Hirissou and also to enjoy this magnificent landscape.

This place will be a blend of agroforestry and permaculture.

Vine & Wine

Starting from a virgin place where there was no vine 20 years ago, I wanted to create a vineyard , truly inspiring my own identity.

This place will be a blend of agroforestry and permaculture.

300 olive trees, 150 fruit trees, 40 citrus trees, 20 truffle oak trees, 20 walnut trees, 600 immortelle plants and hundreds of different plant varieties are planted on 2 km of wild hedges. Of course, we respect everythings in preserving the magnificent local biotope.

You're about to enter my world, intimately linked with Corsica and the Mediterranean. I'm a winemaker and I'm not talking about vines this time… the vines are always kept in my mind. At the northern and southern hillside of this amazing place there is 1 m depth of a clay-limestone soil with a limestone bedrock outcropping at the bottom. This type of terroir is ideal for making great wines.

I thought outside the box for this project and planted the grape varieties according to my inspiration. Durif (Petite Sirah) , an old French grape variety, is chosen to become the future Clos Hirissou Red Wine. This grape variety is currently lesser- known in France.

The Clos Hirissou White Wine is created from Chenin, a fabulous native grape variety from the Loire region. Of course, high-density vine planting (7,000 vines per hectare) is also part of our plan. This vineyard has been transformed into organic farming since the beginning of our project.

In 2023, the lodge, built on ancient stones will welcome you at the top of the hill. We will share a glass of organic wine with you to enjoy the picturesque landscape of the Pyrenees mountains and Château de Mauriac.

There will never be a road sign on the way to Clos Hirissou. This place will be yours for a moment and enjoy your moment by discovering and traveling through my world.