All around the Northern Hemisphere, harvest calls are beginning to trickle in. The grapes are plump, juicy, and ripe, ready to be pressed into their first stages of becoming delicious wine! But that’s not the only excitement a-brewing this time of year — IT’S FALL FRENCH RELEASE TIME!
With lots of exciting bottles from Bordeaux, the Rhône, and beyond beginning to make it to our shelves, we’d like to introduce you to the first round of new French gems from the diverse region of The Languedoc.
Fortant de France Terroir de Altitude Series
While the greater region of Languedoc-Roussillon is one of the most prolific grape-growing regions in the world, the more particular subregions have emerged as a prime hunting ground for smaller-production diamonds in the rough. The soils and microclimates vary dramatically, and pockets of highly expressive characteristics are ripe for the picking..literally.
Fortant is situated to great advantage in the elevated foothills of the Black Mountains, catching blasts of the Mistral winds famous in the Rhône Valley, as well the cool, dry Tramontane winds from the North. With the vineyards’ southern-facing Mediterranean aspect and predominance of calcareous limestone & sandstone soils, this seemingly scrubby environment is ideal for a wide array of Southern varietals. Under the direction of fourth-generation winemakers, Fortant wines offer a balanced expression of ripeness, acidity, and pronounced aromatics.
Viognier 2020
The winemakers are after freshness and purity with this lean, mean Viognier. Night harvesting and single-lot vinification with six-months lees aging in French oak create a spring-loaded eddy of Meyer lemon, grilled pineapple, orchard blossoms, peanut shell minerality, and crunchy green pear.
Malbec 2019
Boldly rich with a mid-palate lift, this is Southern Malbec at its finest — plushly plummy with some wild boysenberry, date, puckery lingonberry, violets, allspice and aromatic peppercorn on a lifted but silkily tannic finish.
-Aimee Hutchinson | Wine Manager Top Ten Liquors