92 Wine Spectator

"Ripe, seductive red, with a deep well of kirsch, cardamom and dark plum flavors, which turn inky and rich. Finish is filled with loads of mocha, cream and spice. Best from 2007 through 2012. 150 cases imported." -92 Points - Wine Spectator

VITICULTURE:
"Selected plots of old hillside vines on limestone-clay soil. A blend of equal parts Syrah, Mouvedre, Grenache Noir, and Carignan Noir. Intensive work in the vineyards, removal of buds, grapevine internode and laterals, bunch equalizing and leaf stripping. Perfect phenolic ripeness is looked for in each variety and terroir. Selection on the vine and on tables in the vineyard after destemming." -Winery

VINIFICATION:
"Storage and transport in refrigerated trucks. Vinification in new hogsheads of five hectolitre capacity, devatted when warm, malolactic fermentation and aging in new oak barrels (100% Saury). All operations such as pumping over, racking and barrel filling are done without pumps. Aged for 18 months on lees. Unfiltered. The 2003 vintage is very concentrated and yet tastes beautifully right away if one likes young powerful wines. Will gradually open up over the next two years, and has a cellaring potential of between 8 and 12 years." -Winemaker

WINEMAKER:
"Fairytale magic or eye for the main chance, Hervé Bizeul’s star is certainly in the ascendant. A former sommelier, restaurateur and food and wine pundit, he left the boulevards of Paris for the wild tracts of Roussillon in 1998 to chance the life of vigneron. Six years on he is the talk of the region, his wines fetching an incredible price and the aptly named Domaine du Clos des Fées (fée meaning fairy in French) more than truly launched."

"Spellbinding is the word to describe the region he chose to enact a change of career. The Agly valley in the north of Roussillon offers a spectacular landscape of steep-sided hills, stony garrigue and bush-trained vines offset by the high Corbières and almost permanently sunny skies. In its upper reaches lie prehistoric Tautavel and the magnificent bowl-like cirque of Vingrau. This is the heartland of appellation Côtes du Roussillon-Villages and home to the Clos des Fées." -James Lauther MW - Decanter