Critics reviews
Anthony Rose - The Independent, 16, February 2013
About this WINE
Le Soula
Le Soula produces wines of remarkable quality at high altitude in the Fenouillèdes region of the Roussillon, in the foothills of the Pyrénées, up above the Agly valley.
Le Soula’s wines combine freshness and vitality, a characteristic which stems from the soil and the climate. The soil is granitic and poor. The climate is hard and extreme, combining the heat of the Southern sun with the cold and rain of the mountains at a height of between 350 and 600 metres, and the effects of the Tramontane wind.
There are 53 hectares of which 23 are planted with vines in small widely spread parcels with different expositions to the sun.
Gérard Gauby, the Roussillon's most highly respected vigneron, had become aware of the potential of vineyards at higher altitude to produce wines with real finesse. In 2001 he formed a partnership with his English wine importers, Roy Richards and Mark Walford, to create a new estate. In 2008, they were joined by Gérald Standley who now runs the vineyard and has become a partner in the enterprise.
Since the outset, the vineyards have been managed organically and they are now worked biodynamically. Being completely organic the vineyards are a haven for flora and fauna. Wild boar emerge from the forests to turn over the soils in search of grubs and herbs, which are to be found in abundance.
The vineyard is principally composed of very old vines with some planted more recently. The red grape varieties are Carignan, Syrah and Grenache noir . The white wines are blended from a cocktail of Macabeu, Sauvignon blanc, Grenache blanc and gris, Vermentino, Marsanne, Roussanne, Malvoisie du Roussillon and Chardonnay. Le Soula is to be found in a great many of the world's leading restaurants in many different countries
Other Varieties
There are over 200 different grape varieties used in modern wine making (from a total of over 1000). Most lesser known blends and varieties are traditional to specific parts of the world.
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Description
The green remembered hills of the Côtes Catalanes around the village of St Martin De Fenouillet are more raw than picturesque, more rugged than dramatic. An appropriate back-drop for the Soula vineyards, for the enactment of the Gauby-inspired vinous philosophy of virtually zero-intervention….. for what is now recognised as one of the great white wines of France.
The blend in 2008 is 38% Sauvignon, 35% Macabeu and 19% Vermentino ( aka Rolle) the balance made up of Grenache Blanc, Grenache Gris and very small quantities of Marsanne, Roussanne, Malvoisie du Rousillon and even Chardonnay. If complexity is born of variety, this is complex indeed; Spanish gold of colour, or should that be Catalan gold…then a fine nose of honey , beeswax, quince, lanolin and even fine white Burgundy ( that must be the 0.5 % of Chardonnay in the blend).
The palate is fresh with nutty notes added to the orchard fruit and the flinty foundations; the famously fresh agrume finish ties it up seamlessly and dispels any initial impressions of excess viscosity like a clear blue sky after morning mist. A very fine Soula.
(Simon Field MW , BBR Buyer)
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