The soil

The soil

The soil at La Dona Tigana, as in all the underlying land of Cassis, is upper Cretaceous limestone, a shallow brown clay-limestone soil which is eroded by the slopes.

The vines are nourished by the vigor of their root systems and are cultivated in steep terraces of 50 and 100m altitude.

Climate and exposure

The gulf and bay of Cassis are surrounded by hills as high as 400m. Hence the vines are protected from the mistral winds by a circle of surrounding hillside.

Frosts are quite exceptional here but the exposure to the sun is quite considerable. The vines are mostly west-facing.

Rainfall is irregular with two marked rainy periods, firstly in November-December and then a lighter period of rain in March and April.

Vine population

The Vine population at La Dona Tigana is traditional and in keeping with the Cassis appellation.

The whites are equally distributed between Marsanne, Clairette and Ugni blanc. The dark grapes are predominately Grenache complemented by some Cinsault and a little Mourvèdre.

The vines are on average twenty years old.