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. The blend evolves vintage by vintage; for the 2012, sources peg it at roughly 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 sixteen months in roughly 60% new French oak. 15% ABV.

2012 was a brutal year in the Roussillon: a -11°C winter, the coldest in forty years, with vine damage; April hail in the Agly Valley struck prime Grenache; heterogeneous bud break led to uneven ripeness within parcels. The best Grenache was picked in mid-October at very low yields. Syrah came in rich and concentrated. The vintage delivered well-balanced, aromatic wines, scarcer than usual.