Earth Day. Winemaking began in the Languedoc around 125 BC, and over the last two millennia, little has changed in its basic chemistry. Though the past century has seen the advent of new chemicals and measurements, winemaking is still the combination of grapes, yeast, and time.
The winemakers at the Mas Foulaquier return to this simple alchemy. Their pesticide-free vineyards are archetypes of polyculture, with wildflowers and insects at home amid the rows of vines. And it’s from these vibrant vineyards that the winemakers obtain both elements of the winemaking process — untreated grapes from the vines, and wild yeasts from the skins and ambient air.
This is winemaking in its purest, most original form, and the results are wines of remarkable complexity and grace.
Natural Syrah. The winemakers at Foulaquier aren’t just back-to-the-land hippie types (though they’re not not that) — they are master viticulturalists and winemakers. Winemaking without vineyard treatment or controlled yeast strains is not easy, but Foulaquier’s wines may be the finest and most consistent biodynamic wines we import.
Today we’re releasing the 2013 “Les Calades,” a syrah-based wine of a beautiful dark, inky hue. In the nose this wine could almost be mistaken for a Northern Rhône Syrah, showing the grape’s signature clove, blackberry, and dark chocolate. But in the mouth this is unmistakably Foulaquier — a symphony of cool, earthy, jammy notes that is at once mouthfilling and carefully balanced.
This wine perfectly captures the northern Languedoc’s ruggedly beautiful landscape, a blend of silky elegance and rustic earthiness. Wherever you are, open this outside if you can — take a sip, close your eyes, and reconnect with the natural world.
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FOULAQUIER Calades 2013
Ansonia Retail: $32
case, half-case: $25/bot
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AVAILABLE IN 6- AND 12- BOTTLE LOTS
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or call Tom: (617) 249-3657
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