HISTORY
Clos le Joncal, which is situated in the heart of bastide country, 15 kms South of Bergerac, at St. Julien d’Eymet, was conceived in 1995, when Joelle and Roland Tatard took over the family business. This property has a long heritage of viticulture, as the ancestors of Joelle (born Fonmarty) have been wine producers since 1775.
Originally the property was not solely committed to viticulture, as traces of prune ovens can be found in the surrounding buildings. Crop growing and the rearing of livestock was also carried out as with most of the properties in the area. Although the various plots of land growing the vines were mentioned in Feret’s 1903 edition on the wines of Bergerac, the vineyard underwent changes according to the evolution of the appellation. Originally 3.5 Ha in 1922, the vineyard was extended to 6 Ha in 1995 and today is made up of 9 Ha, of which 6 Ha are devoted to red grape varieties and 3 Ha to white.
Since 1979, the wine has been produced in a cellar situated in the centre of the pittoresque village of St. Julien, in the locality of “Le Joncal”. Since that date, the harvest had been delivered to the local co-operative until the creation of the present company.
Since 1994, Roland, who was at the time a fighter pilot flying Mirage planes in the air force, decided to re-activate the wine venture with his wife Joelle, as her parents were looking forward to a well earned retirement.
The risk was taken and the decision to produce the 1995 harvest on the property of “Joncal” was made.
A wine producing cellar was therefore created by replacing the old sheds, and in 1999 an ancient barrel cellar originating from the 19th century was totally renovated.
In 1995, Roland meanwhile studied viticulture and oenology at the college of Monbazillac, whilst at the same time concentrating on producing his first vintage. Having successfully negotiated his retirement from the air force, he continued each month to instruct the young fighter pilots at Cazaux, near Bordeaux, and he flew his last Alpha jet on April 1999.
Roland’s involvement in the heart of the air force explains the choice of the names for his top of the range white and red wines : “Mirage” for the AOC Bergerac red and “Alpha” for the AOC Bergerac white. (AOC – Appellation d’origine contrôlée – is, simply put, a label guaranteeing the quality of wine).