Before settling down amid the vines, walls and soil of the Clos des Fées, Hervé Bizeul's peregrinations had been many, flitting around the wine business and the world in general. As a sommelier, as a journalist… but most of all, as a son of this hard ground, with a real pride in Roussillon. It was one day in the late 1990s, looking out onto this desert of scrubland, with its dry stone walls and vines planted in pick-hacked holes amid the green oaks with their twisted branches, that he decided to take his passion for wine to its logical extreme by becoming a wine grower himself. Thanks to his hard work in the vines – but also through his formidable enthusiasm for selling and promoting his wine with a talent for forging links that is somewhat uncommon among growers, who enjoy the solitary company of their vines and can be uneasy with commercial relationships – Bizeul would be quick to find success. And this success would enable him to live comfortably and develop his domain by expanding it through the purchase of parcels of land (both already planted and awaiting plantation), hiring workers, buying increasingly advanced equipment and continuing to tour the wine shows of France and the world, proudly flying the flag of his own wines as well as all the others in his region. But if you think Hervé Bizeul has retired his pen, then think again: today, he is among the most prolific contributors to be found in the blogosphere.

The ‘Clos des Fées’ cuvée is the estate’s finest cuvée, the most ambitious, the richest, the one to be wisely kept in the cellar until it is opened for a special occasion. And the one that proves the Roussillon has no reason to envy many appellations with a more flattering pedigree when it comes to fine wines! This cuvée is a blend of very old vines (between 70 and 100 years old) of Syrah, Grenache, Carignan and Mourvèdre. A mosaic of small, carefully selected plots that benefit from extremely meticulous nurturing worthy of a small garden! The secrets behind this nectar? Meticulous harvesting (the grapes are transported to the winery in a refrigerated truck!), precise vinification, partly in demi-muids (500 to 650 litre barrels), partly in stainless steel truncated-cone vats, and ageing in new barrels for 18 months. The result is an exceptional wine that leaves no one indifferent. We recommend opening it at 17 °C alongside a daube Provençal with black olives or a wild boar stew.