List of products by manufacturer Le Clos des Fées

Hervé Bizeul du Clos des fairies, one of the best winemakers in Roussillon.

Hervé Bizeul: "The Clos des Fées is a plot of vine where the Fairies would live, if they existed! The place is very secluded, very beautiful, very wild, very romantic and inspired us to name it."

Hervé Bizeul never thought of becoming a winemaker, by turns sommelier, restaurateur and writer, it was not until 1997, without means but full of hope that he decided to settle at the foot of the blue cliffs of Vingrau, a magical and mysterious place where land and sea meet.

He began to vinify at a friend's house the few hectares of vines he owned. Good communicator and excellent winemaker, this enthusiast is very early discovered by lovers of great wines (even if he is "only" in the Roussillon, not very rated at the time!), and the critics too. Over time, Le Clos des Fairies expanded to cover 30 hectares of vineyards and 40 hectares of olive trees, on a wide variety of soils, which today makes the reputation of Roussillon.

The vineyards of the estate are very dispersed and this specificity has contributed to the success of the estate: Hervé Bizeul explains "this is for us one of the keys to the quality of our wines". The diversity of the soils makes it possible to obtain unique wines, each representing a terroir. Indeed, the estate has a hundred plots spread over a dozen different soils, mostly clay-limestone.

The fairy enclosure has built its reputation on the exceptional and regular quality of its wines, with above all a titanic work in the vineyard. Hervé Bizeul has set up on his land (a hundred hectares) a complete ecosystem that allows a great biodiversity (many species are present, not just vines!) and therefore the development of microorganisms beneficial to the vine: fauna and flora are essential to the life of the terroir.

The grape variety is composed mainly of indigenous grape varieties: syrah, grenache, carignan and mourvèdre for reds. For whites, white grenache is used at 90% with a grey grenache complement.

The plots are conducted in reasonable and reasoned struggle. Important observation work, and manual ploughing is carried out throughout the field. Chemical treatments do not exist at the Clos des Fées. To energize and revitalize its soils, Hervé Bizeul uses amendments and horse manure.

The grapes are harvested at perfect maturity. The vinifications are precise and rigorous. The grapes are carefully sorted and peeled and then put in a vat at low temperature (for a better extraction of aromas). In order to homogenize its different vintages and extract as many colouring materials as possible, drawings and reassemblys are carried out every day during the period of alcoholic fermentation.

For some vintages, the breeding of the best vintages is carried out in a reasonable percentage in new barrels (after some abuses in the past ...) to obtain powerful wines, with mature character, while maintaining a superb balance with a fruit of surprising freshness.

You have to discover the Clos des Fées with the "small" medium-garde vintage, Les Sorcières (grenache and carignan), already impressive in the great vintages. Then move on to the Old Vines, in red and white, aged in barrels and made from a wide variety of ancestral grape varieties. Finally, the great wine of the estate, Le Clos des Fées allows to discover aromas and complexity rare in Roussillon, thanks to the great classics Syrah, grenache, carignan and mourvèdre.
In the big years, the rare "Little Siberia" is an unusual micro-cuvée, by its low production as by its selling price.