Leon Barral Faugeres 2020

In Lenthéric, a hamlet in the schist hills of Faugères, Didier Barral is the thirteenth generation of his family to work the land, and Domaine Léon Barral has become the Languedoc's reference point for uncompromising farming: biodynamics with cows, horses, and pigs grazing the vineyards through winter, feeding the soil while sparing it the weight of a tractor. The Faugères rouge is the lightest and juiciest of his three red cuvées, half Carignan with 30 percent Grenache and 20 percent Cinsault from vines forty to seventy years old, raised without hurry for two years in cement and stainless steel. Silky tannins and a velvety mouthfeel carry the earthy, mineral imprint of pure schist. Natural wine before anyone needed a name for it.