Corbières Château Fontarèche Vieilles Vignes 2022

Description

Château Fontarèche is one of the most historical estates in the Languedoc. It has been in the Mignard family since 1642 and is today owned by Jacques De Lamy. The estate is managed, however, by head winemaker Vincent Dubernet, whose father preceded him as consultant winemaker.

The Château is surrounded by an impressive square of 160 hectares of vines, which are sustainably farmed and edged by 10 hectares of forest. The vineyards are divided by the road: those on the north side of the D11, beside and behind the Château, are classified as Corbières AOC, while those to the south of the road are IGP. The vines sit on an ancient limestone terrace and are rooted in a combination of gravel and limestone soil covered by large pebbles; water is easily absorbed but not well retained. The Mediterranean heat can therefore be challenging to manage in the vineyards, and irrigation, when permitted, is widely used in the region. Fontarèche has two kilometres of irrigation channels that surround theirvineyards, allowing for effective drip irrigation when necessary, resulting in full physiological ripeness to give wines with lovely vibrancy and supple tannins.

The Vieilles Vignes, a blend of the oldest vines of Carignan, Syrah and Mourvèdre on the estate, represents outstanding value. The oldest vines on the estate are the Carignan used in this blend, which were planted in 1962. It is hand-picked in whole bunches and undergoes semi-carbonic maceration to soften the tannins, while the Syrah and Mourvèdre are destemmed before fermentation and ageing in stainless steel. The result is an inky, fragrant wine brimming with pure blackberry fruit and a fresh herbal finish.