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Sylvain Fadat’s Extraordinary Vision
Sylvain Fadat’s Extraordinary Vision
by Tom Wolf by Tom Wolf
2016 Languedoc Montpeyroux Rouge “Les Cocalières”
2016 Languedoc Montpeyroux Rouge “Les Cocalières”
Sylvain Fadat
A section of Les Cocalières
Domaine d’Aupilhac France | Languedoc-Roussillon | Languedoc Montpeyroux
It takes a special kind of vigneron to look out across France’s most esteemed appellations and vineyard sites, deemed so decades if not centuries before, and proclaim, “I am going to create a new vineyard just as special from scratch!” But then again, Sylvain Fadat of Domaine d’Aupilhac is no ordinary vigneron. In the 1990s, Sylvain identified a volcanic amphitheater high in the Montpeyroux hills, with soils of basalt, raw limestone, and marine fossils, as a unique terroir perfectly suited to making extraordinarily elegant wine from Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvèdre.
First, Sylvain had to move mountains to make this vineyard a reality—literally, by clearing huge boulders and some of the shrubbery that clung obstinately to the hillside. Then, he planted his vines, which are surrounded, to this day, by a landscape teeming with wildlife and aromatic herbs. He was vindicated right out of the gate: his earliest bottlings from Les Cocalières hold up, after twenty years in bottle, as stellar reds. This rouge, which has five years of bottle age and has just arrived directly from Sylvain’s cellar, benefits even more from the older vines and Sylvain’s deepened experience with this terroir. It is no exaggeration to say that this cuvée shows some of the greatest finesse of any red wine from the south of France.
Sylvain Fadat
A section of Les Cocalières
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2016 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | 40% Syrah, 30% Grenache, 30% Mourvèdre |
Appellation: | Languedoc Montpeyroux |
Country: | France |
Region: | Languedoc-Roussillon |
Producer: | Domaine d'Aupilhac |
Winemaker: | Sylvain Fadat |
Vineyard: | Planted in 1999-2002 |
Soil: | Limestone, Basalt |
Aging: | Ages in cuves and barrels for 15 months |
Farming: | Organic (certified) |
Alcohol: | 13% |
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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