Faugeres AOCCarignan, Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, CinsaultFounded 1959Les Crus Faugeres cooperative membersFaugeres
Faugeres cooperative winery founded in 1959 and operating under the Mas Olivier label, with the Vilavigne cellar door at Faugeres open year-round and a broad range of Faugeres AOC reds, whites and roses.
Tasting: Cellar tour and tasting at the Vilavigne cellar door at Faugeres
Signature wines: mas-olivier-expression, mas-olivier-grand-fontaine, mas-olivier-tradition
Tip: The Expression rouge is the cooperative's value Faugeres; the Grand Fontaine is the upper-tier old-vine bottling.
Saint-Chinian AOCSyrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, Carignan, Cinsault16 haFounded 1988Pascaline and Yves BourWinemaker Noemie VidlSaint-Chinian
Saint-Chinian estate at Bramefan, 16 hectares of vines (in a 25-hectare property) at 210 to 300 metres elevation, built from 1988 by Isabelle and Mathieu Champart and acquired in late 2020 by Pascaline and Yves Bour, who entrusted the cellar to Noemie Vidl while keeping the Bordeaux-meets-Languedoc precision intact.
Tasting: Cellar tastings at Bramefan, Saint-Chinian by appointment
Signature wines: champart-cote-d-arbo, champart-causse-du-bousquet, champart-clos-de-la-simonette
Tip: Causse du Bousquet is the prestige Syrah-led cuvee; Clos de la Simonette is the old-vine Mourvedre that often outlives the warmer Languedoc reds.
Saint-Chinian AOCSyrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, Carignan, CinsaultFounded 1998Cyril BourgneWinemaker Cyril BourgneSaint-Chinian
Saint-Chinian estate founded in 1998 by Bordeaux-trained Cyril Bourgne, working schist parcels in the northern Saint-Chinian zone with a precision-oriented approach learned from the Saint-Emilion grand crus.
Tasting: Cellar tastings at La Madura by appointment
Signature wines: madura-classic, madura-grand-vin, madura-blanc
Tip: The Grand Vin is the cellar Syrah-Mourvedre; Classic is the everyday Saint-Chinian rouge.
Saint-Chinian AOCSyrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, Carignan, CinsaultFounded 1990Cathy Planes and Jean-Francois Izarn familyORGANIC CERTIFIEDSaint-Chinian
Saint-Chinian organic estate at Causses-et-Veyran north of Beziers, working three terroir-specific cuvees (Les Cres on rolled pebbles, Les Schistes on schist, Les Terres Blanches on clay-limestone) since 1990.
Tasting: Cellar tastings at Causses-et-Veyran by appointment
Signature wines: vitarele-les-cres, vitarele-les-schistes, vitarele-les-terres-blanches
Tip: Each of the three terroir cuvees is bottled separately, which makes Borie La Vitarele the cleanest vertical of Saint-Chinian's three soil types in a single estate.
Saint-Chinian-Berlou AOC and Saint-Chinian AOCSyrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, Carignan, Cinsault, Roussanne, MarsanneMartin familyORGANIC CERTIFIEDSaint-Chinian
Saint-Chinian-Berlou estate on the schist hillsides above the Orb river at Berlou, certified organic and producing both Saint-Chinian-Berlou cru reds and Saint-Chinian whites.
Tasting: Cellar tastings at Berlou, by appointment
Signature wines: cambis-carnet-de-voyage, cambis-kalliope
Tip: Carnet de Voyage is the Berlou-cru flagship Syrah-Grenache; Kalliope is the rare Saint-Chinian blanc.
Saint-Chinian AOCSyrah, Mourvedre, Grenache, Carignan, Cinsault18 haFounded 1992Marc ValetteWinemaker Marc ValetteORGANIC CERTIFIEDSaint-Chinian
Saint-Chinian organic estate founded in 1992 by Marc Valette at Cessenon-sur-Orb, 18 hectares planted 80 percent to Syrah and worked with very late harvest dates, ECOCERT certified since 1999.
Tasting: Cellar tastings at Cessenon-sur-Orb by appointment
Signature wines: canet-valette-mille-et-une-nuits, canet-valette-le-vin-maghani, canet-valette-une-et-mille-nuits
Tip: Maghani is the Syrah-led cellar cuvee; the wines are picked at over-ripeness and have a distinctive black-fig profile.
