Lisson is a small wine-producing estate in the Jaur Valley, close to Olargues. Two hectares of vineyards nestling in a forest of chestnut trees and ever-green oak.

The vines are planted on small terraces on the hill-side behind the house.

Lisson has always been a wine-producing estate - right up until the 1930's when the farm had to be abandoned. The fields and vineyard quickly became overgrown with weeds and the forest threatened to take over completely. Claude Rudel bought the farm 25 years ago and when he was later joined by Iris Rutz they decided to fulfill their dream of returning the estate and its landscape to its original agricultural tradition.

Claude, the son of a Languedoc vine-grower dreamed of proving that, taking advantage of the local micro-climate, it would be possible to produce great wines at Lisson.

Iris went to study viticulture under the guidance of Daniel Domergues in order to find out more about making top-quality wine.

The adventure began in earnest in 1990. Iris and Claude spent years clearing the hill-side behind the house and restoring the dry stone wall terraces. Thanks to their efforts the upper slope and the magnificent arc of the Cirque des Cèdres re-appeared for the first time in half a century.

At the time it seemed very unlikely that they would find themselves included in an AOC area like St. Chinian and Faugères, which are both nearby. When they started, the only wine coming from the valleys of the Jaur and the Orb was being made by a few small co-operative wineries, none of which were as yet engaged in quality wine production.

They started without the assistance of government grants, or like-minded neighbours with whom they could share their experiences and in the absences of AOC regulations which determine the recommended grape varieties to be used. However this gave them the freedom to select the varieties which they preferred, liked to drink and which corresponded best to their strategy for the fledgling vineyard.

Le travail pouvait commencer :

After clearing the hill-side, they planted Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Cot, Petit Verdot and Mourvedrè - varieties which produce some of the best wines from France and the New World. Later they added Oeillade and Grenache, native varieties which come from a small vineyard which they still rent.

Since Claude´s accidental death in February 2001, Iris Rutz-Rudel continues to run the estate.