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2018 Languedoc Montpeyroux Rouge
Domaine d’AupilhacThat the Languedoc has finally overcome its reputation as a source of bulk wine is a testament to the efforts of pioneers like Grange des Pères and Sylvain Fadat of Domaine d’Aupilhac, who have worked tirelessly to shine a light on the region’s finest terroirs. Montpeyroux, a quiet old wine village in the foothills of the Cévennes mountain range, produces powerful reds that remain fresh and balanced, as cool nights and occasional summer storms provide respite from the overall hot, dry Mediterranean conditions. Sylvain creates this cuvée with all the varieties permitted in the appellation, yielding an excellent snapshot of Montpeyroux. With Mourvèdre, Syrah, Carignan, Grenache, and Cinsault, this beautiful, deep-purple beast offers iron-infused black fruit, wild spice, garrigue herbs, and dense, focused minerality from the fossil-rich limestone and marl soils. Delicious and invigorating today, it can also age effortlessly—proof that a great site and honest farming are key to genuine, long-lived wines.
—Anthony Lynch
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2018 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | 30% Mourvèdre, 30% Carignan, 25% Syrah, 10% Grenache, 5% Cinsault |
Appellation: | Languedoc Montpeyroux |
Country: | France |
Region: | Languedoc-Roussillon |
Producer: | Domaine d'Aupilhac |
Winemaker: | Sylvain Fadat |
Vineyard: | 35 years |
Soil: | Limestone, clay, scree, blue marl (with fossil deposits) |
Aging: | Wine ages in barrel for 20 months |
Farming: | Organic (certified) |
Alcohol: | 14.2% |
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About The Producer
Domaine d'Aupilhac
About The Region
Languedoc-Roussillon
Ask wine drinkers around the world, and the word “Languedoc” is sure to elicit mixed reactions. On the one hand, the region is still strongly tied to its past as a producer of cheap, insipid bulk wine in the eyes of many consumers. On the other hand, it is the source of countless great values providing affordable everyday pleasure, with an increasing number of higher-end wines capable of rivaling the best from other parts of France.
While there’s no denying the Languedoc’s checkered history, the last two decades have seen a noticeable shift to fine wine, with an emphasis on terroir. Ambitious growers have sought out vineyard sites with poor, well draining soils in hilly zones, curbed back on irrigation and the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, and looked to balance traditional production methods with technological advancements to craft wines with elegance, balance, and a clear sense of place. Today, the overall quality and variety of wines being made in the Languedoc is as high as ever.
Shaped like a crescent hugging the Mediterranean coast, the region boasts an enormous variety of soil types and microclimates depending on elevation, exposition, and relative distance from the coastline and the cooler foothills farther inland. While the warm Mediterranean climate is conducive to the production of reds, there are world-class whites and rosés to be found as well, along with stunning dessert wines revered by connoisseurs for centuries.
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Where the newsletter started
Where the newsletter started
Every three or four months I would send my clients a cheaply made list of my inventory, but it began to dawn on me that business did not pick up afterwards. It occurred to me that my clientele might not know what Château Grillet is, either. One month in 1974 I had an especially esoteric collection of wines arriving, so I decided to put a short explanation about each wine into my price list, to try and let my clients know what to expect when they uncorked a bottle. The day after I mailed that brochure, people showed up at the shop, and that is how these little propaganda pieces for fine wine were born.—Kermit Lynch