Another fascinating macerated white from Fatim, this time blending 80% Macabeu with 20% of the seldom-seen Carignan Blanc varietal from a mixed planting of 60 year-old vines. A gorgeous copper colour in the glass, the aromas give off medicinal herbs, wildflowers and oceanic salt. Dense and concentrated, the fruit is pithy, evoking bitter orange marmalade, grapefruit and mango skin, all with the ever-permeating herbal lilt. The Macabeu brings a lovely line of acid, but there is also a golden richness at the core and the tannins feel nicely integrated, even at this early stage.
The grapes were de-stemmed and macerated on the skins for 5 days, then pressed into steel tank to rest for 8 months before bottling with no additions.
Born in Morocco, now residing in the tranquil isolation of the mountainous Pyrénées-Orientales, Fatim initially trained as a herbalist before fulfilling her long-term goal of making wine. After a lot of searching she was able to acquire her own ‘Mas’ – an old remote farm - that comprised 3.5 hectares of vines aged between 20 and 80 years of age and a place to live, in the Aspres region at the foothills of the Canigou mountain range.
Sitting in the valley floor, the vines sit in complete seclusion and were tended to by a grower practising organic farming before her who wanted to ensure that the land fell into the right hands before retiring. Using her previous training, Fatim works in the vineyard with her own brand of biodynamics, using homemade fermented plant extracts from the diverse flora of the hillsides. The arid soils are treated with copper only when absolutely necessary.
