Meteoric Faugères

The distinctive circular 'hole', pictured above, is 220m in diameter and is likely (but not proven) to be the crater formed by a meteor which fell to earth some 10,000 years ago. It also inspired the name for Domaine du Météore, a small family domaine near Cabrerolles in Faugères. The domaine has been in the Genevièves Libes' family for several generations and has 23 hectares of vines in Faugères and St Chinian.

I have come across Dom de Mètèore's wines a few times over the last five years but only recently visited the domaine and tasted the whole range. Genevièves Libes took me through the wines with enthusiasm and she evidently has great pride in her wines. And justly so. I have to say that I was impressed. The wines are consistently good quality: well-balanced, not overextracted, lovely fruit flavours.Wines to enjoy drinking but not not necessarily show stoppers or medal winners.

Worth seeking out and good value for money.

I particularly liked their Faugères Blanc, Les Léonides, 2009. This is an unoaked blend of Marsanne and Roussanne, which has delicate peach and herb aromas and flavours. Crisp nutty finish. I bought a case of this to drink over the summer and it disappeared very quickly! 6,50€

Their standard Faugeres Rouge is Les Léonides (5,70€) and is medium bodied with soft black fruit flavours. Slightly vegetal on the nose. Easy drinking. It is worth paying a couple of euros more for their St Chinian which comes from vines near St Nazaire de Ladarez which are also on schistous soils. Very expressive nose with exuberant red and black fruit. Attractive fruit palate with a intriguing minerally character.

There are three further cuvées of Faugères, each named after a different constellation and with different degrees of oakiness. Les Orionides spends 12 months in oak and is satisfyingly rich and spicy albeit slightly dominated by oak. Good but I couldn't get that excited about it. My favourite of the 3 oaked wines was Les Perséides. 60% Syrah, 40% Mourvèdre. 18 months in oak but it has excellent concentration of plum and blackcurrant fruit to support it. Supple tannins and an elegant backbone of minerality. 11.90€ but worth it.

Top of the range is Les Lyrides, almost pure Syrah which spends nearly 2 years in barrel. The 2007 is still very young and dominated by oak. But there is excellent concentration there and a hints of mineral and spice on the nose and palate which will reveal themselves further over time. Keep 3 years at least. 19€

See Rosemary George's notes on Faugères from last year's fete.

Faugères - all about schist

Yesterday afternoon I toddled off to Faugères for a tasting of the 2008 vintage. 35 producers presented their wines in the appropriately named Salle de Bacchus, under large posters displaying the region's new artwork and strapline ' Faugères, l'appellation Nature schiste.`

This striking new poster captured the essence of Faugères. Schist. For the record, schist is a metamorphic rock which can be easily split into thin layers. The french word 'schiste' also means slate, which is a type of schist, as well as the broader term, schist.

All the vineyards within the Faugères appellation are grown on schist - in fact it is the only appellation in the Languedoc to be based on one homogenous terroir. Vineyards with a high proportion of schist are  naturally low yielding and they force the vine to send its roots deep down in search of water and nutrients. This stands the vine in good stead in times of drought. In addition, the stones act as mini heat stores. They absorb the heat during the day and radiate it back to the  grapes at night, so promoting grape maturity.

So what of the wines? I particularly enjoyed the 2003 Grande Cuvée from Chateau des Estanilles, which had oodles of dark,  brooding fruit and was just beginning to develop and reveal tantalising hints of tea, dark chocolate, tar and smoke.  Soon after I moved to the Languedoc I tasted the 1998 vintage of this wine which was (and no doubt still is) staggeringly good.

In complete contrast, but just as good, were the wines of Domaine Cottebrune. This domaine is small, only 10 hectares and is owned by Pierre Gaillard, an accomplished and celebrated winemaker in the Rhone. He is best known for his Cote Rotie, which is also based on schist.  Pierre's sure touch is in evidence in these impeccably made, stylish wines. The 2007 Transhumance is concentrated yet elegant, with a deft touch of oak. The 2007 Parole de Berger is the top wine, a masterly blend of 80% Syrah and 20% Grenache. Cold maceration pre-fermentation, malolactic in barrel and 12 months ageing in barrel, of which 30% were new are the points to note in the vinification. The resulting wine is brimming with plum and black cherry fruit with hints of smoke and coffee. The oak is well  balanced and it has a lovely long finish. A classy wine with a good future ahead of it.