'Passe Temps' the name of the first wine made by Laurent de Besombes Singla in 2001 (then a 100% grenache noir), surrounded by red earth, stands on the first foothills of the 'Corbières Catalans'. The plots, totaling 50 hectares, are set among rocks, undergrowth and pine forests and follow the hills, steep slopes and plains of this area.
Laurent found the way to reveal the amazing potential of this terroir. True to the grapes that love the sun of Roussillon, he creates some authentic wines, fine, elegant, full of the earth that produced the grapes. The red wines are made from grenache, carignan, mourvèdre and syrah. The white wines are made from macabeu, grenache blanc, grenache gris, muscat d'alexandrie and muscat à petits grains, including an impressively good sweet Rivesaltes.
Since 2006, all of the estate's vineyards have been certified organic or biodynamic. Laurent replaced herbicide, fertilizer and other synthetic products with natural materials such as horsehair, comfrey, lime, sulfur, nettle, fennel and the like. He breathed new life into the vineyards and worked through the seasons. The ecosystem took back its rights. Overall, they make an average of 50,000 bottles a year and yields per hectare dropped from nearly 80 hectoliters in the past to just over 20 hectoliters now. Quality is King here!