Les Foulards Rouges 2019, so natural and so good.

6/24/20 -

Les Foulards Rouges is a long-standing favorite of Chambers Street Wines for a good reason: Jean-François Nicq is producing some of the best, most drinkable and consistent natural wines in France. I have not had the chance to visit the estate yet, but I love the region and really enjoy his work, so every year it is pleasure to see the wines arriving at the end of Spring. For 2019 (a lackluster vintage according to Jean-François) he has managed to pull out a really great line up of wines, which being low alcohol, are perfect to pop open and enjoy now. But don’t be fooled into thinking the wines are simple! With each passing year, the vintages have begun to reveal more and more of their own personality, terroir and unique expression. And despite being light on their feet, they are far from being fragile. I enjoyed them opened for over a week, keeping them in and out the fridge (I am unforgiving with my wines in a way, making them go through this test, but I learn so much in this process, and I have to say, most of the time well made wines are undoubtedly better on day 2 or 3!). Les Foulards Rouges 2019 are without a doubt really strong! The enticing, hedonistic aromatics really explode after 24 hours from opening. All of this to say that Jean-François Nicq is a really talented winemaker to be able to retain so much freshness without losing complexity. It also tells me he is a seriously good vigneron to be able to understand so well the possibilities to be had from his terroir. This is not by chance. Years of experience with low-intervention vinification, a method in harmony with his values, and a strong esthetic sensibility have granted Jean-François Nicq and Les Foulards Rouges a deserving reputation of excellence!

Jean-François Nicq is not from Roussillon, the beautiful French side of the historical Catalogne where the domaine is currently located. Growing up in the north of France, he studied geology before he discovered wine and later entered school for oenology. There he met Thierry Puzelat who introduced him to the burgeoning natural wine movement with Marcel Lapierre, Philippe and Michèle Aubéry-Laurent of Gramenon and the Dutheil family of Château Sainte-Anne. After his diploma, he moved to the southern Rhône near Tavel and in 1989 he became Director of the Estézargues Coopérative. Usually, cooperatives, especially in this part of France, are synonymous with industrial farming (high yield based on the alcohol level more than on the overall quality which leads to a massive amount of wine to vinify). Estézargues went in another direction thanks to Jean-François’s vision. By using a smaller structure of only ten or so growers (farming 500 hectares of vines which is not nothing), he could push for more collective work, better quality farming to enhance the identity of each domain. Instead of vinifying everything in bulk he started to make cuvées, stopping the use of added yeasts, and decreasing the amount of sulfur dioxide to almost nothing by using carbonic maceration. Smaller volume meant greater care was given to the wine. Within a few years, Estézargues became an example for the region, helping its members to move towards more organic farming. The line up quickly gained accolades for high quality wines at a ridiculously low price - which is still the case today!

During his time in Estézargue, Jean-François met Eric Pfifferling from L’Anglore. They briefly considered working together on the same domain but after 13 years in the Gard, Jean-François was ready to start his own project. Sidenote-They did create a wine together “L’Anglore aux Foulards Rouges”, a blend of grapes from each of their respective estates that I highly recommend if you can find it! Jean-François left Estézargue in 2001 (Edouard Laffittte and Denis Deschamps took over). It took him three years to find the place he wanted to be, a combination of affordability, good terroir and a beautiful environment. At the foothills of the Canigou mountain overlooking the little harbor of Collioure, the “Vermeille Coast” and the Mediterranean sea, he found his paradise, and 9 hectares of vines.

Les Foulards Rouges is located in the little village of Montesquieu-des-Albères, 6 miles from the Mediterranean Sea and 3 miles from the Spanish border. We are in the heart of the historical Catalogne, in the southernmost part of the Roussillon where the Pyrénées creates natural boundaries between France and Spain (the Albera Massif, where Jean-François’s vineyards are, became the official boundary between France and Spain in 1659 with the Pyrénées Treaty signed when Louis XIV took control of the French Roussillon from Philippe IV of Spain.) This is a traditional winemaking region dating back to the Romans. The hillsides of the commune used to be covered with head-pruned vines, the fruits of which were sold until the 1980s to the local cooperative. But today, these slopes are overrun by bushes, the vineyards relocated down from the slopes to the flat land to allow for the use of machines, and the co-op business died. The rising costs, the laborious nature of farming, and the changing taste preferences of the residents led to the disappearance of older independent vignerons. This painful reality became a blessing for Jean-François as he could buy his property for very little money. He was not the only one. Alain Castex was the first to arrive in the area, years before Jean-François, Bruno Duchêne and Jean-Louis Tribouley also started their domain thanks to the cheap price of land. It was thought that no one wanted to break his or her back on the sun-drenched slopes which could not be tilled by machine. Together they would start, with Castex as their mentor, the natural wine revolution of the region (If you are interested in the subject, I suggest watching the documentary called “Wine calling: le vin se lève” by Bruno Sauvard). What is remarkable is that most of the benchmark estates of the Roussillon did not exist 30 years ago.... The potential of the region for dry unfortified wines is just being discovered!

Let’s talk about geology . The Roussillon, especially the Agly valley, has an incredibly complex geological diversity only second to Alsace (which ranks at the top by its rich volcanic soil). You can find pretty much everything from every geological age from 500 million year-old precambrian schist and gneiss, marls, sedimentary limestone, granites, to a couple of thousand years old alluvial moraines. The erection of the Pyrénées is the main reason for such diversity. With the faults and slides created during the mountain formation the resulting geology and pedology (altitude, exposure, etc.) are varied and remarkable. And if you add on top of this the diversity of grape varieties, you will understand there is not one Roussillon but multiple Roussillons, with unique identities. One common point though is the weather which enjoys more than 2600 hours of sun per year thus very little rain (we are in the driest region of France, second once again to Colmar in Alsace!). The region is also beaten by the northwestern Tramontane - a powerful dry wind. Grown on the most arid soils, the fertile ones being kept for other crops, the vines historically suffered and produced sought-after, concentrated grapes (for distillation in the making of fortified wines). Today, this is of course, a less desirable outcome. Drought and over-ripeness are a constant threat, forcing harvest to be pushed earlier and earlier. In theory though, this has a plus: very little disease pressure. But with climate cycles changing, winters becoming warmer, and greater rainfall in the spring and the early summer, the region has been invaded by powdery mildew, decimating vine flowers, leaves and fruits (this disease usually touches more humid region like Bordeaux, the Loire, etc.). 2018 and now 2020 were badly touched. The other threat the region has to fight against is the flavescence dorée, a phytoplasma carried by a leafhopper (cicadelle) destroying the leaves, the crop and the vine. By governmental order, vignerons must treat against the insect, and unfortunately there is no efficient organic treatment.

The Albera Massif is the easternmost portion of the Pyrénées. In Collioure and Banyuls, the mountains drop majestically into the Mediterrenean, revealing dark schists. The hands of men sculpted them in undulating terraces and channels ( peo de gall in catalan) to make vine cultivation possible. But 6 miles inland, you will find, at 100 meters elevation, decomposed gneiss and granitic soils: this is one of the reasons why Jean-François chose this place. These terroirs, with lighter soils, could give lighter wines (way more than in the Agly Valley where you find Clos du Rouge Gorge, Gauby, Matassa, etc.). And with the influence of the sea especially at night, they could also give fresher ones (way more than in Banyuls). He knew it immediately after tasting wine that was made from the area, despite the low quality farming - he could sense the potential for complexity and tension.

So the estate started in 2002 with 9 ha. Today the estate totals 20. It is composed of multiple plots, with two big islands. The vineyards on the lower, flatter part, mostly on decomposed sandier soil produce lighter, quaffable, easier-to-drink cuvées (La Soif du Mal, Le Fonds de l’Air est Rouge, Octobre). On the hillside, 100 meters up, are isolated single plots: Frida, Les Vilains, Les Glaneurs, Grenache. They lie directly on the bedrock with barely any topsoil and show more density. In the valley, most of the vines are on wire - a carryover from the previous mechanisation of the region, while on the hillside, they are mostly head pruned. When Jean-François needs to replant, he only replants “en gobelet” with massale selection made at a local nursery. Not being originally from a farming family and having studied more oenology than agronomy, Jean-François thinks he still has a lot to learn. Of course he converted the vines right away to organic when he arrived, exchanged a lot with other producers of the region like Alain Casteix, Cyril Fhal, Laurence Manya-Kref from Domaine Yoyo. He is also part of the organic farming association of the department which provides researchers to assist them with specific issues. The soils are lightly worked whenever possible with a mule called “Uma." A mixed cover crop (legumes, rye, cloves, etc.) and organic composts are used to create more humus rich topsoil. Yields are low, usually between 15 to 20 hl/ha. In the cellar, things are simple but precise. The goal is to make clean, highly drinkable wines with the minimum addition possible - sulfur dioxide is typically only used for some very early bottlings. Grapes are usually chilled for 24 hours or so, cooling them down. All the cuvées of red are whole-cluster but Frida and Les Glaneurs, they are all fermented at colder temperature with spontaneous yeasts in inox or cement tanks. Jean-François keeps the juice in the tank for the carbonic maceration. It lasts between 1 to 3 weeks depending on the cuvée, then they are blended if needed (between different grapes harvested at different times for example.) Most are then aged in larger used barrels to stabilize them. Aging is short, usually most of the wines are bottled before the summer, by hand at the estate without fining or filtration. For the white and the rosé, the grapes are directly pressed and vinified only in tank to preserve the freshness. Jean-François does not make wines to be kept 20 years before being drunk. He wants people to enjoy them almost right away after bottling or within a few years.

What about the vintage? 2019 was a warm vintage with hot spells at the end of June/July (with days above 43°C). Fortunately two rains at the end of July and mid August saved the vintage. He harvested very early in the second half of August, to preserve more freshness. In the end, it is a lovely vintage showing good fruit and gentle tannins, to drink within two years or so.

Finally a note on the names. When Jean-François bought the property with his childhood friend, Bijan Mohamadi, a mathematics teacher at Montpellier University, they wanted to pay tribute to the activism of their youth and to one of their favorite authors, Fréderic Fajardie who wrote a series of neorealist political fictions called “Les Foulards Rouges” - "The Red Scarves." Most of the cuvées are named after movies they were inspired by. The original labels were designed by a friend of Thierry Puzelat. They started to change with Octobre, which was designed by Jean-François’ daughter.

Thanks Jean-François for the discussion, and congrats again on the 2019 line-up.

-Pascaline Lepeltier