Château de Gaure - Languedoc Le Château rouge 2020

Made primarily from Carignan, blended with 30% Grenache and 30% Syrah, this wine has reached full maturity. It finishes with a fresh note thanks to the vines planted at an elevation of 200 meters in the Agly Valley.

Pierre Fabre is a jack-of-all-trades: a former executive at a large packaging company and an artist in his spare time, he returned in 2004 to the passion that shaped his childhood—viniculture. He took over Château de Gaure in the Limoux region and added other vineyards to build an estate spanning about 50 hectares. Having made significant investments in the vineyard and winery, he produces wines of great purity, allowing a small amount of residual sugar to remain in his white Limoux named after the château. This makes for excellent food pairings, but his other white wines are vinified as dry wines, such as the superb Chenin cuvée, Alderica, and Oppidum. The reds are very fresh, with an added touch of finesse in the tannins of the “Pour-mon-père” cuvée.

Native yeasts and barrel aging are key to this Grenache-dominated blend. On the nose, a delightful blend of vanilla and fruity notes. This harmony carries over to the palate, which is generous, smooth, and fresh all at once, with subtle oak and equally soft tannins. The indulgent chocolate finish adds an extra touch of pleasure. Best enjoyed young.

Coming from a long line of Languedoc winemakers, Pierre Fabre—after a career in other fields—purchased this 63-hectare estate in 2005, which he has been converting to organic and biodynamic farming since 2018.

On the nose, the wine opens with aromas of blond tobacco and licorice, complemented by notes of garrigue. On the palate, the wine is elegant, supported by beautiful, noble, and well-integrated tannins. The finish is balanced and spicy.

Belgian industrialist Pierre Fabre fulfilled his dream in 2004 by purchasing a remote vineyard on the border between the Limoux and Malepère regions, near the village of Cépie, followed by several plots in Roussillon (in the Latour-de-France area). Now a winemaker and artist (he designs his own labels), Pierre Fabre has committed to organic and biodynamic farming to allow biodiversity to flourish. The vineyards are surrounded by fields and forests in an exceptional setting.