2020 Une Vie La Nuit Hors Champ
WINEMAKER: Cyril Fhal
VARIETAL: Syrah
REGION: Roussillon, FR
VITICULTURE: Organic
"This wine comes from purchased grapes picked at the highest altitude in Roussillon at 600m on the hills of Trevillac and Montalba, permitting a long, slow maturing cycle, which help the freshness and delicacy in the wines. Cyril’s idea was also to work the juice very delicately and make wines as close to the grape as possible. Aged in older barrels for just under a year and bottled off with a gentle dab of sulphur it is very 'digeste' and sapid, with black cherry fruit and hint of spice and salinity. Superb." - Andrew Guard
Cyril Fhal's Clos du Rouge Gorge comes from the village of Latour-de-France whose schist and gneiss terroirs are some of the best in Roussillon. Cyril bought 5ha of old vineyards in 2002 (since when he has gradually added another 2.5ha) having previously worked with Mark Angéli and Charlie Foucault in the Loire, and then as the chef de cave of Mas Crémat in Roussillon. Right from the outset he chose to work outside the Roussillon-Villages appellation, as he believes that rules such as prescribing a minimum 30% syrah and/or mourvèdre make for wines that are contrary to the tradition, soil and climate of Roussillon.
Since he took over, Cyril has searched for a natural balance in the vineyard to help give finer and more complex expressions in his wines. To avoid soil compaction he uses no tractors, just a motorized hand-held cultivator and a horse to help with ploughing. He also sows leguminous plants between the rows of vines, rolling them and folding them back in the summer so that they act as a reserve of humidity, helping each vine to suffer less from the heat and keep enough freshness in its grapes, which is crucial as the village of Latour-de-France is known to have the driest non-irrigated vineyard in the world (an average of just 250mm of rain a year). The crux of viticulture for Cyril is observing the nature of each of his vines and their environment with a lot of attention and reacting according to their specific needs.