Wine & Spirits: “A sense of sun and garrigue that’s transporting”
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2019 Baron Ermengaud Faugeres Rouge 750 ml
- Curated by unrivaled experts
- Choose your delivery date
- Temperature controlled shipping options
- Get credited back if a wine fails to impress
A Top Expression of Faugères’ Schist Soils
Along with neighboring appellations Corbières and Minervois, Faugères is one of the single most reliable AOPs in France for red wine value. Wines like Baron Ermengaud Faugères Rouge, produced by a dedicated group of growers, is a prime example.
This cuvée is named after the lord Ermengaud de Fouzilhon, who granted vineyard land to the Benedictine (and later Cistercian) monks in the 12th century. The monks built a farmstead on the land, and they used it to cultivate the vineyards using techniques that were somewhat advanced for their time. The people of the surrounding town of Laurens learned greatly from the monks, and today Faugères is known for its sun-baked, schist soils, which produce warm, spicy reds.
Founded in 1959, Les Crus Faugères, which produces this wine, manages nearly half of Faugères’ vines and makes an impressive selection of brands—including Mas Olivier—but Baron Ermengaud is one of their top expressions.
Here the grapes are hand-harvested, primarily from hillside plots with highly schistous soils. The wine is made from a blend of 80% Syrah, 10% Grenache, 5% Mourvèdre, and 5% Carignan, and it offers a masterful array of aromas, like boysenberry, cassis, wild strawberry, and violets, mixed with tapenade, garrigue, and dried leaves.
The medium to full body bursts with black fruit, pink peppercorn, licorice, smokehouse bacon, and sagebrush. It’s the kind of wine that makes us hungry, wishing we were basking in a warm Faugères sunset as dinner arrives—roast saddle of lamb à la Provençale or roast venison come to mind, as the mix of spicy and savory fruit-filled notes would complement the meat perfectly.