Soif du Mal Blanc is a medium-bodied summer white combining the usual Catalan suspects: Muscat, Grenache Blanc & Macabeu. Waxy fruit, seasoned with herbs and some crushed minerals is the order of the day. Oh, and it’ll fizz in your mouth like sherbet popping candy.
DOMAINE DES FOULARDS ROUGE, JEAN-FRANCOIS NICQ,Montesquieu des Alberes - Organic, Natural
Jean-François Nicq took over the domaine in 2002. It was then ten hectares and he planted a further two on beautiful schist and gneiss slopes. In his first year he began the conversion to organic viticulture. In his previous job he vinified the wines at the co-op in the Côtes-du-Rhône (Estezargues) where he worked without sulphur and maintained this practice of natural winemaking at Foulards for his first vintage. The terroir is Les Albères in the Pyrenées-Orientales, 10km from the sea and Collioure, where the maritime influence brings the freshness that enables the wines to reach phenolic maturity without excessive alcohol. The nor-nor –east exposition of the vines compounds this character and finally the soils which make up this ancient granitic area bequeath a delicacy and elegance to the wines. The yields are kept low by the climatic conditions; successive droughts over the years have forced the vines to develop deep root systems to search for water and mineral nourishment.
Depending on the parcel the yields range from 5- 25hl/ha. Purity is the watchword here; the first thing you notice is the freshness of the wines, and, dare one say, some pretty juicy fruit.