Mas des Capitelles Vieille Vigne Faugeres Red French Wine 750 ml

$21.99

Mas des Capitelles’ workhorse “Vieilles Vignes” is built on the backs of Mourvèdre (50%) and Carignan (25%) from vines up to 80 years old, with Syrah (25%) completing the blend. After a 30-day maceration with a small proportion of semi-carbonic whole clusters in the fermentation, one-fifth of the cuvée was aged in oak and four-fifths in fiberglass and enamel vats, with bottling taking place after 14 months. An exuberant nose of blueberries, violets, and warm dust evokes the sun-scorched slopes of the appellation in visceral fashion, and the palate sizzles with an almost spiky minerality, framed by rich but firm blue and black fruits. The balance of refinement and wildness here is extraordinary, with neither trait calling too much attention to itself.

Description

The schistous foothills of the Cévennes mountain range, at the southeastern flank of the Massif Central, look down from significant altitudes on the Languedoc plain below and the city of Béziers, just a few miles to the south. Here, we find the appellation of Faugères, in which the Mediterranean varieties Carignan, Mourvèdre, Syrah, and Grenache speak a punchy and iron-laced dialect. We at Rosenthal Wine Merchant have long cherished our islands of special terroir within the Languedoc’s vast ocean: Oliver Jullien’s lyrical, masterful creations from the high slopes of the Terrasses du Larzac; Vincent and Isabelle Goumard’s precise, refreshing reds from that same limestone-dominated zone; and the Gibert family’s boisterously rustic Corbières from the foothills of Mont Alaric, to name but a few. It is with great pleasure, then, that we present our first foray into the rugged hills of Faugères.

Additional information

Weight 48 oz
Dimensions 5 × 5 × 17 in
Custom Label 0