‘Sostrera’ is the word for ‘solera’ in the local Catalan parlance of Banyuls. Dr. Gaston Parcé established the solera at Mas Blanc in 1925 with two layers of demi-muids (650-litre barrels) full of wine. The Domaine bottled the first wine from the solera in 1946. This commitment to extended aging within the Sostrera continues today. The wine is 100% Grenache noir (from cuttings brought from Château de Beaucastel), fortified in the usual manner of the estate. Every few months, winemaker Jean-Michel Parcé tops up the barrels with older wines, creating a sort of ‘semi-oxidation.’ But a blending for bottling only happens every 5-10 years, when Jean-Michel blends from the second layer of demi-muids and adds older wines into the first layer of barrels. This measured approach means that these hallowed barrels capture the entire history of the Domaine.