Le Clos des Fées

The eponymous cuvée of Domaine du Clos des Fées, a Côtes du Roussillon Villages assembled from old-vine parcels on clay-limestone hillsides above Vingrau. For the 2016 release, the blend lands at 50% Syrah, 20% Grenache, 20% Carignan, 10% Mourvèdre. Partial fermentation in new five-hectolitre demi-muids, manual punch-downs, malolactic in barrel, gravity transfers throughout. Around twenty months in new French oak. 15% ABV.

2016 was widely regarded as an excellent year across southern France and the Roussillon - warm and dry through the growing season, but with cool nights preserving acidity and aromatic lift. A classic rather than overripe vintage, producing wines with ripe fruit, balance, and structural backbone, in contrast to the more difficult heterogeneous 2012.