Domaine Coudoulet Syrah d'Altitude | Languedoc, France

And elegant and subtle wine, more Rhone than New World.

The Syrah vines are grown at 300m at Fauzan on the road to Minerve above the village of Cesseras.

This plot of 10 year old vines nestles in the foothills of the south part of the “Massif Central” - with limestone soil imparting a more mineral character to the wine - differentiating these vineyards from the clay and limestone ones lower down.

With sustainable viticulture (grass cover, bio-technical insect control, organic fertilisers, light tillage) the grapes go into both this wine and Coudoulet’s Minervois.

The limestone pebbles in the vineyards give the brand name: in the local language, “Coudoul” is a pebble, the suffix “et” means small.

The grapes are destemmed at harvest and undergo traditional vinification with ageing in stainless steel vats for 6 months.