Domaine d'Aupilhac, Montpeyroux, 2006 – Organic

Sylvain Fadat

The Domaine d’Aupilhac is in Montpeyroux, some 36 kms north-west of Montpellier. The cellar, created in 1989 in the family home, is right in the heart of the village. The Fadats have been growing grapes for over five generations.

A large part of the vines grow on south-west facing “terraces” on a site named “Aupilhac”. They’re mainly Mourvèdre and Carignan, but some Syrah, Grenache and Cinsault grow here too.

The land is treated with great respect, the absolute priority being to maintain its natural balance. A regime of travail du sol is practised: the land ploughed regularly; this means the roots have to force their way deep into the cool sub-soil, thus protecting the vines from seasonal drought. No herbicides or pesticides are used.

Grapes are harvested by hand so that the skins are properly mature in order to extract the best aromas and colour, as well as ensuring silky tannins. A summer or green harvest is carried out on the younger vines to remove some bunches before they reach maturity; this stops the vines suffering from the heat and helps root development. It’s not necessary with the Carignan as the vines are so old that they limit their yield automatically. The local wild yeasts ensure the grapes ferment naturally. The wines mature in casks and barrels in the underground cellar. Sylvain has a gleaming chai with an array of stainless steel tanks but is sceptical about any interventions when the wine has entered the vat. The wines are unfiltered and unfined.

The AOC Montpeyroux wine is a reckonable beast: a brooding blend of Mourvèdre (32%), Syrah (20%), Carignan (28%), Grenache (15%) and Cinsault (5%) also on mixture of limestone scree and hard blue marls. The wine undergoes a long maceration of up to 30 days with frequent pigeage and is then aged in small tuns and barrels for about twenty months before being bottled without filtering or fining. The wine is a deep violet colour, the aromas are intense – a melange of cocoa, vanilla, leather, undergrowth or herbs and one cannot fail to be impressed by the richness of the palate which mingles pleasant substance with satisfying fullness. In the Montpeyroux region this wine is regularly seen dating the following: Fillet of beef with chanterelles, game with fruit and spit-roasted woodcock.