Joel Foucou is a man who really likes to get to know his wines, so much so that during the fermentation he does the pigeage, or the punching down of the cap, by literally jumping into the cuves with the mass of the fementing grape juice, skins and pulp!

This isn’t as awful as it sounds, the alcohol and tannins kill everything off – eventually even the yeast that converts the sugars to alcohol – and Joel tells me that it gives him a real advantage in mixing the grapes around, and in really getting to know the personality of his wines.

The wines are typical of the Terrasses du Larzac only in their makeup and appellation; their quality stands out, making the domain one of the top two or three in the area. Each of the 15 hectares of vines only yields an average of 15 – 20 hectolitres of wine, due to the age of the vines, and the severe pruning and rigorous selection of grapes when harvested. The complex wines all offer something different, and really reflect the complex terroir on which the grapes are grown.