A blend of Carignan, Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, and Cinsault, this is a funky, complex, rustic and earthy expression with red and dark fruit, and touches of crushed herbs, smoke, and minerals.
Clos Fantine
Located just outside of the village of Lenthéric, within Faugères, in the Languedoc, the 28-hectare Clos Fantine estate is run by three siblings: Carole, Corinne and Olivier Andrieu, combining their individual talents to run the business. Corinne makes the wine, as she studied oenology at Montpellier, Carole does the paper work, having gone to business school, and Olivier looks after the vines. They built their winery in 2000, three years after their father (a winemaker with a talent and passion for natural wines) passed away, and have been making natural wines in his honor ever since. All their wines are made from biodynamically grown grapes without any added SO2 and spend 18-20 months in concrete vat, depending on the vintage.
Faugères is the smallest appellation of the Languedoc with only 1,950 hectares. The soil in Faugères is mostly grey/blue/red slate (with a few limestone parcels). Slate retains water very well (up to 40% of its volume) and retains heat that is redistributed during the cooler night for a long and slow maturation. Soil is quite draining, poor and very acidic. Faugères AOC is protected from the Tramontane (dry and strong wind from the north) by mountains in the north and overlooks the Mediterranean (20km) with a southern exposure.
No synthetic fertilizers are used in the vineyard. Natural cover crop develops and when it is dense enough, it is buried using a plow. Depending on the year, different varieties of plants develop and contribute to the balance of the soil. Each parcel is self-sufficient and in harmony with its own environment.
No systematic treatments are used (no herbicides, fungicides, pesticides, or copper...) to treat the vineyards.
The vines have been farmed this way for decades and natural resistance exists in each parcel. The balance of each parcel is also the reason why they do not need to use any treatment on the vines, and yet are able to harvest a very healthy crop.
- Camille Rivière Selections
