The Wine… is quite a gem from the value-laden Languedoc. It is imported by Kermit Lynch, a pioneer in finding, importing, and being a champion of farm-made wines from Europe. Here is what he had to say about Lou Maset from Sylvain Fadat: “Since its arrival three weeks ago, this has been a favorite around the house, and it is fun (at least to me) to answer the question, Why? 1. Its pleasures are so accessible. 2. The flavors are quite Mediterranean, and at home we do a lot of Mediterranean-style cooking. 3. It is medium-bodied, yet still seems rich and meaty.”

The Winemaker… from Sylvain Fadat, the proprietor of the Domaine: “My family has been producing wine for over five centuries. Three generations ago, at the end of the 19th century, my ancestors were producing wine at Aupilhac and sending it all over France. When I launched the Domaine d’Aupilhac as an independent vigneron in 1989, I was also cultivating melons, asparagus, tomatoes, and peaches; but since 1992, I have concentrated exclusively on the vines. My father, Charles Fadat, an ornithologist particularly involved with woodcock preservation, enjoyed cultivating and developing the plants that belonged to my maternal and paternal grandparents. Between 1989 and 1992, vinification took place in old bowsers parked in the open air and I bottled the wines before the following summer! In 1993 I built a covered cellar equipped with modern, efficient equipment."

The Farming... Fadat again: “We plough the land regularly; this means the roots have to force their way deep into the cool sub-soil, thus protecting the vines from seasonal drought. We treat the land (terroir) with great respect, our absolute priority being to maintain its natural balance. We harvest the grapes by hand. The skins must be properly mature if we are to extract the best aromas and colour, as well as ensuring silky tannins. On young vines we carry out a summer or green harvest to remove some bunches before they reach maturity; this stops the vines suffering from the heat and helps root development. The land’s own yeasts ensure the grapes ferment naturally. The wines mature in casks and barrels in our underground cellar. We bottle the wines ourselves at the domaine, unfiltered. We believe that work in the vineyards has far more influence on a wine’s quality than what we do in the cave.”