L`Hortus Grande Cuvée Rouge Pic Saint Loup AOP France

Martin Orliac

Martin Orliac grew up in the vines. His father Jean planted the first hectares of Domaine de L'Hortus in 1978 — on garrigue scrubland beneath the Hortus cliff in Pic Saint Loup — and Martin spent his childhood watching those vines take root and a reputation grow alongside them. Where Jean was the pioneer, Martin is the custodian and craftsman. He took over the domaine after years working the estate at his father's side, absorbing both the technical rigour of trained oenology and an instinctive feel for how this particular piece of the Languedoc expresses itself in the glass. Pic Saint Loup's altitude, limestone soils, and the cooling breath of the Cévennes mountains give the wines a tension and elegance that distinguishes them from the broader south — and Martin farms with minimal intervention to protect exactly that character. Under his stewardship, L'Hortus has continued to draw praise from Jancis Robinson, Wine Advocate, and Decanter. The flagship Grande Cuvée — Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvèdre — is frequently described as the Pinot Noir of southern France: structured, aromatic, and built for the long haul. The Bergerie range offers the same pedigree at a more accessible entry point. Across nearly 70 hectares and almost five decades of family winemaking, what Martin makes at L'Hortus remains the benchmark for Pic Saint Loup.