Languedoc-Roussillon

About the Winery

Domaine Frédéric Brouca

Frédéric grew up in Normandy and met his Canadian wife Elaine at university in Lille, Northern France. They live a nomadic lifestyle (Canada, India, Singapore and USA) though Frédéric spends about half of his time in Faugères. Since early age, Frédéric had a calling for farming and the fierce desire to become a winegrower. After completing a Masters Degree in Finance in 2001, Frédéric went back to college for a Sommelier diploma and started his career as a Burgundy wine broker.

In late 2012, Frédéric and Elaine were fortunate to take over 25 acres of old vines in Faugères, organically farmed for twenty years and deeply rooted in schist soils.

2013 was the inaugural vintage for Domaine Frédéric Brouca. In his modest winery in the village of Laurens, Frédéric is creating a new vision for Faugères wines; fresh, vibrant and made without artifice. Nothing revolutionary, simply returning to our grandparent's ideology of farming and winemaking to craft 'Vins Vivants'. The Faugères Appellation is in the heart of Languedoc in the Hérault department. Here, winemaking dates back to the Greek times and was developed during the Roman Era. It wasn't until the early 1900's, however, that the wines became more widely known for its unique schist soils and moderate Mediterranean climate. These villages are heavily reliant on wine as an important part of their culture and economy.

The area is stunning with mountain views and close proximity to the Mediterranean Sea (20 miles / 30 kms). Faugères has a long history of responsible farming. It boasts the highest percentage of organic vineyards for any AOC in all of France with almost 50% of farmers making the choice.

About the Winery

Clos del Rey

In the foothills of the Pyrénées Mountains, not far from the Mediterranean sea, Clos del Rey is situated in the centre of almost 900 acres in the tiny village of Maury. The estate has been owned and farmed by the Montagne family since 2001. The vineyard itself is nestled among a protected area of garrigues (rosemary and thyme). The vines of up to 120 years old are allowed to grow natural and untrained, in the old-fashioned way, known as the goblet or bush style. However, it is what lies beneath the vineyard that lends much of the character and complexity found in their wines. The winery resides on an abandoned iron mine imparting red and orange hues to the soils of Clos del Rey, this Iron also adds a soft minerality and silky mouthfeel to the wines. Julien Montagne makes complex wines that truly represent his vineyards and his Catalan roots--you can almost smell the sun in the glass.

About the Winery

Domaine Frédéric Brouca

Frédéric grew up in Normandy and met his Canadian wife Elaine at university in Lille, Northern France. They live a nomadic lifestyle (Canada, India, Singapore and USA) though Frédéric spends about half of his time in Faugères. Since early age, Frédéric had a calling for farming and the fierce desire to become a winegrower. After completing a Masters Degree in Finance in 2001, Frédéric went back to college for a Sommelier diploma and started his career as a Burgundy wine broker.

In late 2012, Frédéric and Elaine were fortunate to take over 25 acres of old vines in Faugères, organically farmed for twenty years and deeply rooted in schist soils.

2013 was the inaugural vintage for Domaine Frédéric Brouca. In his modest winery in the village of Laurens, Frédéric is creating a new vision for Faugères wines; fresh, vibrant and made without artifice. Nothing revolutionary, simply returning to our grandparent's ideology of farming and winemaking to craft 'Vins Vivants'. The Faugères Appellation is in the heart of Languedoc in the Hérault department. Here, winemaking dates back to the Greek times and was developed during the Roman Era. It wasn't until the early 1900's, however, that the wines became more widely known for its unique schist soils and moderate Mediterranean climate. These villages are heavily reliant on wine as an important part of their culture and economy.

The area is stunning with mountain views and close proximity to the Mediterranean Sea (20 miles / 30 kms). Faugères has a long history of responsible farming. It boasts the highest percentage of organic vineyards for any AOC in all of France with almost 50% of farmers making the choice.

About the Winery

Mas des Agrunelles

Frédéric Porro was an aspiring Motorcross rider until an accident left him in a wheelchair. This led him to a new passion - wine - after his sister asked him to put together the wine list for a restaurant. From that moment on, he became devoted to the grape. Mas des Agrunelles came about from his collaboration with Stéphanie Ponson – owner of Mas Nicot – in 2005 near Murles in Languedoc. Stéphanie and Frédéric met in 1999 while studying enology in Montpellier. The name of the estate comes from tall the wild sloe trees that surround the vineyards and sloe is ‘Agrunelles’ in old occitan.
The couple make wine with the same diligance and passion as other biodynamic winemakers have before them, it all began with experimentation, trial and error- but they quickly moved from organic vines to a fully functioning biodynamique vineyard and winery. They are proud to produce natural wines of high quality. Located 20 km to the northwest of Montpellier in the communes of Argelliers and La Boissiere, at an average altitude of 200 m, influenced by a cold wind coming from the Cevennes via St Martin de Londres, where both Mistral and Tramontane reach top speeds.

About the Winery

Domaine Frédéric Brouca

Frédéric grew up in Normandy and met his Canadian wife Elaine at university in Lille, Northern France. They live a nomadic lifestyle (Canada, India, Singapore and USA) though Frédéric spends about half of his time in Faugères. Since early age, Frédéric had a calling for farming and the fierce desire to become a winegrower. After completing a Masters Degree in Finance in 2001, Frédéric went back to college for a Sommelier diploma and started his career as a Burgundy wine broker.

In late 2012, Frédéric and Elaine were fortunate to take over 25 acres of old vines in Faugères, organically farmed for twenty years and deeply rooted in schist soils.

2013 was the inaugural vintage for Domaine Frédéric Brouca. In his modest winery in the village of Laurens, Frédéric is creating a new vision for Faugères wines; fresh, vibrant and made without artifice. Nothing revolutionary, simply returning to our grandparent's ideology of farming and winemaking to craft 'Vins Vivants'. The Faugères Appellation is in the heart of Languedoc in the Hérault department. Here, winemaking dates back to the Greek times and was developed during the Roman Era. It wasn't until the early 1900's, however, that the wines became more widely known for its unique schist soils and moderate Mediterranean climate. These villages are heavily reliant on wine as an important part of their culture and economy.

The area is stunning with mountain views and close proximity to the Mediterranean Sea (20 miles / 30 kms). Faugères has a long history of responsible farming. It boasts the highest percentage of organic vineyards for any AOC in all of France with almost 50% of farmers making the choice.

About the Winery

La Sorga

Born in Foix, Ariège, a small town in the Pyrénées, Anthony Tortul founded La Sorga in 2008. Originally aiming to produce a range of natural white wines from the finest vineyards in the Languedoc, he visited organic and biodynamic vineyards all over the region. However, the more he saw, the more he fell in love, and soon he was committed to making reds, whites, pink bubbles and sometimes, late-harvest wines.

Currently, Anthony Tortul works with nine vineyards that are spread throughout Aude and Herault, totaling 25ha. The soils here are as varied as the geology, including calcareous clay, shale, basalt, sand and granite, as is the climate, which ranges from hot and Mediterranean to mountainous and hilly. Planted to more than 20 varieties, including Terret Blanc and Gris, Cinsault, Grenache, Aramon, Carignan, Aubun, Mauzac, Vermentino, Ugni Blanc, Sauvignon, Mourvèdre and more, the vines are grown organically (with 50% farmed biodynamically), and attended to by Anthony. “I love vineyards, especially very old vineyards,” he says, “that’s why I work with a lot of little fields with a lot of old varieties.”

Manually harvesting his fruit into 15kg boxes, Tortul works with whole bunches and does not control the temperatures of his fermentations, all of which are done separately before blending. Working with vines that are at least 50-years-old and up to 110-years-old, Anthony’s yields are very concentrated (15-23 hl/ha in very generous years!), and require long aging in the tank. A benchmark producer in the Natural Wine world, La Sorga wines are made with absolutely zero additions.

About the Winery

Mas des Agrunelles

Frédéric Porro was an aspiring Motorcross rider until an accident left him in a wheelchair. This led him to a new passion - wine - after his sister asked him to put together the wine list for a restaurant. From that moment on, he became devoted to the grape. Mas des Agrunelles came about from his collaboration with Stéphanie Ponson – owner of Mas Nicot – in 2005 near Murles in Languedoc. Stéphanie and Frédéric met in 1999 while studying enology in Montpellier. The name of the estate comes from tall the wild sloe trees that surround the vineyards and sloe is ‘Agrunelles’ in old occitan.
The couple make wine with the same diligance and passion as other biodynamic winemakers have before them, it all began with experimentation, trial and error- but they quickly moved from organic vines to a fully functioning biodynamique vineyard and winery. They are proud to produce natural wines of high quality. Located 20 km to the northwest of Montpellier in the communes of Argelliers and La Boissiere, at an average altitude of 200 m, influenced by a cold wind coming from the Cevennes via St Martin de Londres, where both Mistral and Tramontane reach top speeds.