The Languedoc winegrowing region is the biggest in the world, covering some 243,000 hectares. Of these, 4,000 have been selected to produce the wines of Fortant. This region, where winegrowing dates back some 2,000 years, has been home to the Fortant wine house for a century, anchored in the port town of Sète.
Fortant’s new Sélections Parcellaires range comprises one Languedoc AOC, the two village wines of Minervois and Saint-Chinian, and the three crus of Saint-Chinian Berlou, Minervois La Livinière, and Pic Saint-Loup. These six wines are produced from a selection of 15,000 micro-plots, none larger than five hectares, which make up a precise aromatic cartography. Fortant is the only wine house in the region to work at such a level of precision and over such an area.
The Languedoc is multi-faceted and complex, with unique geological richness, comprising limestone, schist, granite and basalt that are ideally suited to a wide variety of grapes. A series of successive terraces stepped like an amphitheater facing the Mediterranean sits up against the two mountain ranges of the Pyrenees and the Massif Central.
A deep understanding of this winegrowing region has allowed Fortant to identify the varietal, textural, structural, and aromatic potential of each of its plots to ensure an almost infinite range of combinations.
Precise and regular plot monitoring
Some 100 partner winegrowers, 70% of whom are independent, the remainder cooperatives, enjoy a long-term relationship that is based on trust and exchange, with annual or three-year contracts.
Mapping begins with a study of how the vines behave on different soil types, soil-variety suitability, and the impact of the vintage and cultivation practices on the quality of the grapes. This is followed by daily monitoring of ripeness in order to define the optimal date for harvesting. Each plot and varietal is closely monitored from June to harvest in order to plan picking dates before the juice is blended in the vat, depending on its profile.
This approach is centered on the quality of the grapes to ensure premium wines that express their terroir as closely as possible.
The range:
1 Languedoc AOC
2 Village AOCs
- Minervois 2019
- Saint-Chinian 2019
3 Crus
- Saint-Chinian Berlou 2015
- Minervois La Livinière 2019
- Pic Saint-Loup 2019
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