Cuvée Speciale

100% Carignan A little nod to Henri Bonneau with this old vintage release. The idea with this wine is to explore Carignan through the experience of long aging; like what can be done with certain grape varieties from Piedmont or Rioja. 1 demi-muid of old-vine Carignan aged for 7 years in barrel & then aged for 7 years in bottle. Pierre Overnoy has a saying "the aging in bottle should be as long as the elevage". 2007 was the year where Cyril started whole-cluster fementation with Carignan to avoid the austerity profile it can have when vinified destemmed. Bottled 2014, released in 2024.

- Camille Rivière Selections

Clos du Rouge Gorge

Cyril Fhal came to the Roussillon from the Loire Valley and found small parcels of north-facing hillside vineyards on gneiss, near the village of Latour-de-France, about 20 miles north-west of Perpignan, with the soil, exposure, and altitude of the vines giving freshness and minerality to the wines. The vines have been tended in biodynamic farming from the beginning, with light plowing by hand, horse, or rototiller. Natural composts and biodynamic treatments have revitalized the soil, and plants and flowers among the vines bring beneficial insects and a diverse fauna - the mountainside vineyards have a magical quality and seem to blend in with the surrounding sparse vegetation.

The wines of the Clos du Rouge Gorge are elegant, balanced, and full of character, perhaps the finest from the new generation of winemakers in the Languedoc-Roussillon. They are products of living soils, uniquely beautiful with pure silky fruit, moderate levels of alcohol, and firm acidity - delicious examples of the indigenous grapes of the Roussillon.