In 1997, Catherine Roque, already a vigneronne in the Vallée de L’Orb, acquired Mas D’Alezon and its 7 hectares in the northern corner of Faugères. The vineyards are in the village of Soumatre and, ranging from 350 to 450 meters in altitude, are the highest in the appellation. Catherine’s vineyard is certified organic and she employs bio-dynamic principles to enhance the health of the soil and the plants. Catherine grows Grenache, Mourvèdre and Syrah for her reds and Clairette and Roussanne for her white. The average age of her vines is 25 years, including plots of 70 year old Grenache and 80 year old Mourvèdre. Due to the combination of infertile soils and cool micro-climate, her grapes are very slow to ripen and yields are typically 20 to 25 hl/ha. The domain’s two red wines are vinified similarly.
The Presbytère is 80% Grenache with the remainder a blend of Syrah and Mourvèdre.
-Importer notes (Wine Traditions)
The 2022 Languedoc Les Darons brings more density and richness, with ripe black cherries, wild strawberry, ground pepper, and floral notes in a medium to full-bodied, pure, beautifully balanced package. The purity and balance here are top-notch. The blend...
The 2020 Mangot has turned out beautifully, bursting with aromas of cherries, wild berries, rose petals, blood orange and bay leaf. Medium to full-bodied, supple and seamless, it's pure and vibrant, with a layered core of fruit, velvety tannins and a long...
It is wonderful to be able to rely on a bottle of red wine, year in and year out, as we do with Bruno Laboucarié’s blend of old-vine Grenache, Carignan, and Syrah from Corbières. To see the bottle there on your counter or resting in your wine rack, and know with confidence that it is ready to offer up its pure, sun-kissed mélange of dark red fruit, baking spices, and earthy minerality is a small, luxurious comfort amid the hurly-burly of daily life. This kind of consistency over just a few vintages is notable, but we’ve been importing Domaine de Fontsainte’s wines since 1978! Few values can match that track record.
—Dustin Soiseth (KLWM)
This is the most important wine of the estate, a serious red vinified to reflect its capacity to age. The grapes are harvested at a point of slight “surmaturité” which captures the profound scents and flavors of the surrounding hillside “garrigue”. The cuvaison continues for at least a month; then, the wine is racked into tank for aging. The wine is bottled twenty to twenty-four months after harvest. As the wine ages in bottle, it develops enticing notes of juniper, rosemary and thyme as well as the savory flavors of wild berries and a hint of the “animal” … all in all, one of the more compelling values in our portfolio.
-Importer notes (Rosenthal)