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2017 Faugères
Domaine Leon Barral
The first time I tasted Domaine Leon Barral’s Faugères—before I knew much about Didier Barral, who named the domaine for his grandfather—I experienced a coup de foudre. It wasn’t really because of the wine’s succulent notes of mixed red and black fruit, spices, and leather. It wasn’t even that it was somehow simultaneously rustic and graceful, dark and light on its feet. Instead, I fell in love with Barral’s Faugères because of the raw, primal feeling the wine gave me: specifically, the desire to go hunting with my uncle in the backwoods of Maine and sip this soulful red by a campfire, far away from city lights and social media.
Some time after, I discovered that Didier is our last producer to work off the grid, with no cell phone, no email, and no computer. He gardens and raises cows and pigs on his property an hour west of Montpellier. The animals fertilize the soils, trim competing vegetation, and eventually feed Didier and his family. Most importantly, he farms biodynamically, with a zealous devotion to biodiversity, creating an ideal habitat for his vines and all the life around them.
Incredibly, the wine had communicated a love of nature on its own, before I knew any of this. I therefore recommend that you open a bottle of the Faugères in the outdoors. Take it on your next camping trip or fishing excursion, or at the very least, open it in your backyard and leave your phone inside.
—Tom Wolf
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2017 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | 50% Carignan, 30% Grenache, 20% Cinsault |
Appellation: | Faugères |
Country: | France |
Region: | Languedoc-Roussillon |
Producer: | Domaine Leon Barral |
Winemaker: | Didier Barral |
Vineyard: | 40 to 70 years, 14 ha |
Soil: | Schist |
Aging: | Aged for 2 years in cement and stainless steel cuves |
Farming: | Biodynamic (practicing) |
Alcohol: | 14.5% |
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About The Producer
Domaine Leon Barral
Didier Barral represents the 13th generation to grow grapes in the tiny hamlet of Lenthéric, deep in the heart of the Languedoc. Domaine Léon Barral is a beacon of revolutionary winegrowing: shortly after founding the domaine, Didier decided that biodynamic practices were best for his 30 hectares of vineyards. His vines are very old—some up to 90 years of age—keeping yields naturally low. Once in the cellar, Didier’s harvest is cared for with the same zeal, though he would consider the wine all but finished once it leaves the vineyard. This level of artisanship was once nearly extinct, had it not been for Didier and the profound influence he has over viticulteurs who now see how his work ethic and ideology translates to results.
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