Clos du Rouge Gorge Cotes Catalanes Vieilles Vignes 2020

Alcohol: 14.5%

Grape(s): 100-year-old vines of Carignan

Localization: Languedoc-Roussillon, France

Tasting Notes: 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.

The Domain: 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.