Agly Brothers Cotes Du Roussillon Carignan 2010

A chance meeting in the mid nineties was the start of a partnership between two influential winemaking families of modern times; The Laughtons and the Chapoutiers. A common belief in biodynamic farming and its expression of 'true terroir " led to the forming of a common vision; to create wines that were from opposing sides of the world, old and new world, that were joined in the philosophy of their creation; as true expressions of their terroir.

Agly Brothers is nurtured biodynamically and made with simplicity from vines grown in the Southern French town of Latour de France, located in Corbières zone in the hills above the Roussillon plains. Literally translated as 'The Tower of France', this small village borders the ancient kingdoms of Catalonia and France. Mature vineyards lay abandoned in this area of steep, arid slopes due to the high cost of farming, thus it is the quest of the Laughton and Chapoutier families to rediscover and fully express these exceptional, low-yielding sites. The vineyards are located on the slopes in the upper reaches of the Agly valley. The plot planted with Carignan and Shiraz is on gneiss at an altitude of 250m, and faces north. The plot planted with Grenache is on south-facing slopes on an original soil made up of schists on a layer of limestone.

The grapes are picked and selected by hand, 100% destemmed and fermented in small concrete tanks. Maceration takes place over a period of 3-4 weeks with very mild pigeage. The wine is transferred to larger barrels for malolactic fermentation. The wines are then aged for 16-20months in oak, both new and old.