# Faugères Valinière (2016)

- **Producer:** Domaine Léon Barral
- **Colour:** red
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Mourvèdre, Syrah
- **Region:** Languedoc-Roussillon, France
- **Style:** Natural
- **Alcohol:** 14.0%
- **Average price:** €65
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 16–18 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** blackberry, plum, blackcurrant, black pepper, lavender, eucalyptus, cedar, smoke, charred wood, leather, game, forest floor, wet leaves, prune

## About this wine

Domaine Léon Barral is a legendary estate in the Faugères appellation of the Languedoc, led by the pioneering Didier Barral. Renowned as a beacon of biodynamic and natural winemaking, Barral views his estate as a self-sustaining ecosystem. He famously integrates livestock, including cows, horses, and pigs, into the vineyards to naturally manage cover crops and aerate the soil. The 'Valinière' cuvée is the estate's flagship offering, named after a small stream bordering the vineyard. It is a profound expression of Mourvèdre grown on the region's signature schist soils, showcasing incredible depth, structure, and wild, rustic complexity.

## Interesting facts

- Didier Barral allows a herd of cows and pigs to roam his vineyards during the winter months to naturally fertilize and plow the soil.
- The cuvée is named after the Valinière, a small, cool stream that runs alongside the schist-rich vineyard parcels.
- Barral utilizes a vertical basket press from the 19th century to achieve an incredibly gentle extraction of the grape juice.

## Food pairing

The immense structure, robust tannins, and rustic, gamey complexity of this Mourvèdre-dominant blend demand rich, protein-heavy dishes. Game meats, lamb, and slow-cooked stews match the wine's full body and help soften its powerful tannins, while earthy mushroom and herbal elements beautifully complement its wild, savory aromatics.

## Wine making process

The winemaking process at Domaine Léon Barral is strictly non-interventionist. Grapes are harvested entirely by hand at extremely low yields. Fermentation occurs spontaneously with indigenous yeasts in traditional cement vats. Didier Barral employs long macerations of up to three to four weeks with manual punching down of the cap to gently extract structure. The wine is aged for 24 to 30 months in wood barrels, primarily older oak, to allow the intense Mourvèdre tannins to soften naturally. It is bottled unfined and unfiltered, with no added sulfur dioxide, preserving the raw energy of the terroir.