Introducing the Superb Roussillon Wines of Cyril Fhal, Clos du Rouge Gorge!
11/17/12-
We first met Cyril Fhal in 2004 at the Dive Bouteille, a "natural" wine show in the Loire Valley, where he was showing his 2002 Carignan/Grenache red and a 2003 white from 100% Maccabeu. The wines were elegant, balanced and full of character, certainly among the finest from the new generation of wine-makers in the Languedoc-Roussillon. Subsequent vintages from the quietly talented M. Fhal have been uniquely beautiful, with pure silky fruit, moderate levels of alcohol and firm acidity - delicious examples of the indigenous grapes of the Roussillon, but available only at a hand-full of retailers and wine-bars in Europe. Finally, the team of Ten Bells and Chambers Street has obtained a small allocation of Cyril's wines from the excellent 2009 and 2011 vintages. We're proud to have these lovely wines at Chambers Street and we urge you to try them!
Cyril Fhal came to the Roussillon from the Loire Valley, and found small parcels of north-facing hillside vineyards, on gneiss, near the village of Latour-de-France, about 20 miles north-west of Perpignan, with the soil, exposure and altitude of the vines giving freshness and minerality to the wines. The vines have been tended in biodynamic farming from the beginning, with light plowing by hand, horse or rototiller, there being no tractor at the domain. Natural composts and biodynamic treatments have revitalized the soil, and plants and flowers between and around the vines bring beneficial insects and a diverse fauna. Cyril rejected the AOC regulations of the Roussillon, which require 30% Syrah or Mourvedre, not indigenous to the region, "which by their excess of maturity and lack of acidity in this climat, result in fat and heavy wines," thus his reds from the local Carignan and Grenache are Vins de Pays Cote Catalanes. "This manipulation of varieties, followed by chemical agriculture has created a magnificent AOC without tradition and without soil!" The local Maccabeo for the white is the most apt, according to Cyril, at expressing the mineral character of the soil 'with a certain transparency." Yields at Clos Rouge Gorge are normally 10 to 20 hl/ha, harvesting is by hand into small baskets, light crushing by foot is followed by slow fermentations (traditional, not carbonic maceration) with no extraction, alcoholic and malo-lactic fermentation in barrel. (Details on each wine appear in the notes) These are wines of great purity and finesse that combine delicacy and power - bravo to Cyril Fhal for his superb work in the vineyard and cellar!
