Why it matters
The producer
Vialade & Fils is the current name of Les Domaines Auriol, a southern French wine merchant combining family-owned operations with close collaboration among partner estates. The business is supported by more than 1,500 hectares of vineyards and works with a network of cellars and winegrowers. Claude Vialade is the founder and president, while Jordi Salvagnac is the operational director.
The négociant activity selects, assembles and organises wines with partner cellars and winegrowers. Alongside those partnerships sit the family signatures that Claude Vialade brought together under the Domaines Auriol name. The house now carries both the Vialade & Fils company name and established labels such as Saint Auriol.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Claude Vialade grew up in the Languedoc and places her family roots firmly in the region. The company address is 12 rue Gustave-Eiffel in Lézignan-Corbières.
The wines reach across several southern French categories. Saint Auriol Châtelaine carries the La Clape appellation, while Catch & Release Sauvignon Blanc Organic and Saint Auriol Grand Blanc are Pays d'Oc whites. The labels connect the house to both a named coastal appellation and a broader regional category.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
In autumn 2018, Claude Vialade launched an organic-conversion initiative for estate owners. The programme offered financial support for administrative, technical and oenological costs during the first two years of conversion. Organic conversion removes synthetic treatments and changes how the vineyard is managed over that period.
The 2023 Saint Auriol Châtelaine received two days of cold maceration, followed by three weeks of fermentation and skin maceration. It then spent one year in oak barrels. Cold maceration extracts colour and flavour before fermentation, skin maceration keeps the fermenting wine in contact with grape skins, and oak ageing adds oxygen exposure and wood-derived flavour.
Wines to know
The range in view
The red range includes Saint Auriol Châtelaine La Clape, a 2023 blend of Syrah, Grenache and Carignan. Catch & Release Sauvignon Blanc Organic is a 2024 Pays d'Oc white made from Sauvignon Blanc and Muscat. Saint Auriol Grand Blanc is a 2025 Pays d'Oc white made from Viognier, Chardonnay and Rolle.
Together, the bottles cover a La Clape red, an aromatic organic white based on Sauvignon Blanc, and a Viognier-led white blend. The range moves between named appellation and regional Pays d'Oc labelling, with grape varieties defining each bottle's place within it.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Choose Saint Auriol Grand Blanc. It is the Pays d'Oc white made from 70% Viognier, 20% Chardonnay and 10% Rolle, giving one bottle a clear view of the house's Viognier-led white style. Catch & Release uses Sauvignon Blanc and Muscat, so Grand Blanc offers a distinct second reading of the white range through its grape composition and regional label.