In 1998, Frédéric Pourtalié left his local co-operative to found Domaine de Montcalmès. He had already studied under the most demanding of producers: Alain Graillot at Crozes-Hermitage and Olivier Jullien (Mas Jullien) and Laurent Vaillé at La Grange des Pères. To explain, Montcalmès, La Grange des Pères and Mas de Daumas Gassac are all sited around the village of Aniane in the Terrasses du Larzac – an enormous terroir whose profile these three domains have succeeded in raising. Located some thirty kilometres north-west of Montpelier, the operation covers 22 hectares of Terrasses du Larzac-appellation vines. The wines of Montcalmès have grown continually in precision and balance, and are now ranked among the finest wines of the Languedoc.

Frédéric Pourtalié runs his family domain, which left the local cooperative at the end of the 1990s. He produces this Coteaux du Languedoc from Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre grapes, a combination that is typical of the region. He has acquired a wealth of expertise by working with some of the greatest winegrowers around, such as Alain Graillot and Domaine Grange des Pères. Pourtalié tends to his vines according to the principles of organic and biodynamic farming, which encourages the vines to soak up any nutrients needed to blossom from the limestone soil of a plateau. The combination of the nutrients and the northern orientation of the vines gives the grapes an amazing freshness. Yet, the Mourvèdre grapes are grown slightly differently, facing south on pebbly soil which traps the heat from the sun and releases it during the night, keeping the grapes warm.
After being harvested by hand, destemmed and pressed, the grapes are vinified separately. Indigenous yeasts are used to trigger the fermentation process and then, the wine is aged in used oak barrels.
This wine is both powerful and complex and should be left to age for a few years in the cellar to allow it to release its varied notes of red and black fruits, leather and sweet spices.