Château Fontarèche Vieilles Vignes Rouge Corbières 2024
£11.25
The wine
Vieilles Vignes marks the oldest parcels on the estate, and in Corbières that usually means Carignan bush vines of considerable age.
Carignan yields heavily when young and was planted across the south for exactly that reason, but old vines on poor soil give low yields and real depth, which is why the survivors are now prized. Corbières is the largest appellation in the Languedoc, a wild landscape of limestone and schist between Narbonne and the Pyrenees, swept by the Cers wind which dries the vines and keeps disease pressure low enough that organic farming is straightforward. Château Fontarèche is surrounded by a square of 120 hectares of sustainably farmed vines in Corbières, one of the oldest estates in the appellation.
The producer
Château Fontarèche
View all Château Fontarèche winesChâteau Fontarèche is one of the oldest estates in Corbières, its vineyards set in the sun-baked hills of the Languedoc between Carcassonne and the Mediterranean. Records of winemaking here reach back centuries, and the property remains a family concern. This is deep-rooted southern French wine country.
The estate farms a wide palette of Mediterranean grapes, from Syrah, Grenache and Carignan for the reds to Rolle, Viognier and Piquepoul for the whites and rosés. Garrigue-covered hills and warm days give the wines their ripeness, while cooling night winds preserve freshness. Old vines add depth to the top cuvées.
Winemaking blends tradition with a modern eye for clean, expressive fruit. The reds are supple and spiced, the whites and rosés fresh and aromatic. Across the range, the wild herbal character of the Corbières landscape shines through.
Fontarèche offers generous, sun-filled Languedoc wines at everyday prices. Warm, herby and easy to enjoy, they carry the spirit of the Mediterranean south in every glass.
