n the beginning : Sandstone, pudding stone & soil deposits left by the floods in the Tertiary period.


The massif Malepère is reinforced by a layer of sandstone.Here & there, some outcrops with a very hard substratum have formed small hills called " pech " (peaks).

The cuestas (hillsides) of Alaigne & Fanjeaux are barriers of sandstone, & occasionally pudding stone, known as PALASSOU closing the Razés to the South West.

The substratum of the wine growing soil is a mixed molassic type soil ( molasse from Carcassonne to the East & molasse from Castelnaudary to the West). This formation from the 2nd Tertiary period, of alluvial origin, has alternate layers of clay / silt & sandstone. This distinguishes the three types of soil of differing wine specificity.