From Camille:

“The wines of the Clos du Rouge Gorge are elegant, balanced and full of character & among the finest in the Roussillon. Cyril Fhal came to the Roussillon from the Loire Valley in 2002 and found small parcels of north-facing hillside vineyards on gneiss, around 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. Natural composts and biodynamic treatments have revitalized the soil, and plants and flowers among the vines bring beneficial insects and a diverse fauna - the mountainside vineyards have a magical quality and seem to blend in with the surrounding sparse vegetation. 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,". The local Macabeo 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. These are wines of great purity and finesse that combine delicacy and power.”

“Hors Champs is the side project of Clos du Rouge Gorge. Cyril Fhal started this project with the 2017 vintage, after the drought of 2016 jeopardized the financial balance of his estate. The plot of Syrah is always the same (in Padern, a 30mn drive north in the Corbières), he follows the farming throughout the year and does the harvest, this parcel is certified organic farming. The Grenache comes from his own domaine.”

Links to more info about Clos du Rouge Gorge & Hors Champ: