Languedoc – the buzzword is garrigue Jancis Robinson

Languedoc – the buzzword is garrigue

TAMLYN CURRIN

FRIDAY 16 JANUARY 2026 • 10

The keystone of Languedoc viticulture, explored.

‘Follow me!’ And I do, ducking branches and crunching leaves, twigs

underfoot as Bertie Eden’s hat disappears ahead of me into the forest

adjoining his vineyards. ‘You need to see this.’ I’m not sure what we’re

supposed to see. Until he comes to a stop and waves his hand at a young

tree, maybe three metres (10 ft) tall. It’s a holm oak. And it’s dead. Eden

points out another, and another. I suddenly realise there is an almost

I suddenly realise there is an almost invisible cemetery of young trees around me. ‘The oak trees are dying’, he says. It took several days, perhaps even weeks, for the significance of this to sink in.

Sentinel species

Eden’s Château Maris (profiled in our ‘sustainability heroes’ wine-writing

competition in 2020) has been certified organic since 2002,

certified biodynamic since 2004 and certified B Corp since 2016. Eden has been an

eco-warrior for decades. On his estate, he’s rewilded, restored wetlands,

established native cover crops and corridors for biodiversity and built his

carbon-negative, energy-neutral winery out of biodegradable hemp bricks.

He runs vineyard and winemaking trials with academic institutions and his

wines are even shipped to the US on a sailing boat. The forest we’re standing

in is a place he’s been protecting, watching and walking in for years. He

knows every tree. And he’s watching them die.

Eden believes that the oaks, native to the garrigue ecosystem so integral to

the Languedoc region, are what’s known as a sentinel species, the

metaphorical ‘canaries in the coal mine’, signifying advance warning of

ecological collapse. They’re not dying just because of drought, or even

recurring drought, Eden suggests. As rainfall patterns become more

unpredictable, groundwater sources are being extracted faster than they are

replenished, for direct human consumption as well as for agriculture and

manufacturing. Deep-rooted trees, such as oaks, are able to draw on deeper

groundwater resources. That younger trees are dying means that the water

table is dropping beyond their reach,

making them less resilient in times of drought.