In my humble opinion, the wines from Faugères are among the best mid-priced red and rose wines to buy in South France. Certainly, if we are going around to our French friends for dinner or an Apero, then a bottle of Faugères always goes down well.

Faugères is a very small vineyard located deep in the heart of the old Languedoc region, located in the hills above Beziers. The Faugères wine appellation was only created in 1982, yet it has quickly developed a reputation for producing consistently good wines. The wine region is centred around the old medieval village of Faugères, which is 25 kms north of Beziers. An old railway line (which is still in operation today) used to ferry the wines down from Faugères to Beziers, where they were then exported all over France.

The secret to the Faugères wines lies in the vines located on the steep hillsides which are predominantly made from schist, a Granite like shale which allows the rain water to flow straight through the top soil and create pools of water deep underground. The stones then slow down the evaporation of water during the hot summer season, as well as radiating the sunlight to warm the soil. The old adage of "the poorer the soil, the better the wine" definitely applies to Faugères. If it were not for the vineyards, I don't know what else you could use the soils to cultivate.

During the 1960s, a series of terrible storms in the Faugères area destroyed a lot of the old vines. New vines were planted, which now 60 years on are still producing consistently good wines.

However, I also think that another reason why the Faugères wines are so good, is that the wine appellation is very small, with only 35 or so wine producers. With such a small number of vineyards, it is very difficult to hide bad wine, as it will taint the reputation of all the others. It is one thing to produce bad wine if the wine region is spread over a dozens of villages, but if all your fellow wine-makers drink in the same village bar, then you will soon be brought to task.

Red and Rosé Faugères wines

Typically, the Faugères wines are full of ripe fruit and have a big flavour to them. The closest equivalent I can think of is an Empordà wine from Catalonia in Spain. I tend to stick to Faugères red wines, but the Faugères wine appellation also includes an excellent rosé. I am naturally a little suspicious of rose wines - like I am of "special boards" in restaurants, but the Faugères rose wine is extremely well-made.

There is a small amount of white wines produced in Faugères, which tend to be made from little known grape varieties such as Marsanne, Roussanne, Grenache Blanc, and the Italian grape, Vermentino.

Xavier Renerre who is a local Wine Merchant in the Languedoc region, regards Faugères Wines as like an Indie Band before they make it big. As he says:

" . . .  if you bring a bottle of Bordeaux to a Barbecue, then you are certainly a Queen or Abba fan. If you bring a bottle Châteneuf-du-Pape, then you need to get back to Celine Dion and 1990's. If you bring Côte de Provence Whispering Angel, then you clearly think that Adele is cutting edge. However, if you bring a bottle of Pic St Loup or a Faugères, then you are leaning more to Youngblood, Christine and the Queens or Wunderhorse . . . these wines are still cool and on the edge of being discovered".

My prediction is that the Faugères wines, little known outside of the South of France, will become the next 'discovered wine'. My advice is therefore to buy it now whilst the prices are such good value.

Faugères wines of Languedoc

One of the best Faugères wine producers is actually made by a British guy called Simon Coulshaw. After studying an intensive viticulture and wine production degree, Simon and his lovely Spanish wife Monica, then set about finding the most suitable vineyard in France to buy. After visiting over 100 vineyards, he eventually found what he was looking for in the hills above Faugères. Simon currently produces around 10 different Faugères wines. He produces two white wines (my preference is for the Roussanne over the Vigonier) and a really fantastic Rose Faugères wine. The rose is an excellent wine for an 'apero'.

Domaine des Trinites Faugères wines

Simon’s family owned a French home in Provence, so Simon started working in neighbours’ vineyards from age 14 for pocket money. As time went on, he helped out in the winery. His father, meantime, loved Côte du Rhône wines. Every year they would drive from the UK and pick up wines from Burgundy and Rhône on the way. So wine was definitely something that is in Simon's blood. Simon followed his passion for wine by giving up his well paid job in IT and enrolling in a college to study wine making and viticulture.

Simon also produces 4 red wines. 2 of the red wines go under the Faugères wine appellation and 2 are sold under the prestigious Coteaux de Pezenas marque. Out of the reds, my choice was the Faugères wine, Les Maurels. This is a really, really good Faugères wine. It is a definite first bottle of the evening job. So if you want an entertaining afternoon and you want to buy some really excellent Faugères wine, then please call in for a visit and a tour of the vineyards with Simon and Monica. Great people, great fun and great Faugères wine.

Domaines des Trinites, Faugères wine

You will find Domain des Trinites in the tiny village of Roquessels, which is on the road from Roujan to Faugères. After you pass through Gabian, drive on for another 5 minutes and on the right hand-side in the distance, you will see a village perched up on a hill. Take the turn off for Roqueselles and Simon and Monica's place is just on the left as you enter the village. Please ring them in advance to book a time to come and visit (Tel: 04 67 90 23 25). To read more about Simon and his wines, please see our article on Domaines de Trinites, Faugères wine.

Domaines des Trinites, 6 Chemin de l'Aire, 34320 Roqueselles, France.

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Website: www.trinites.com.

Château Haut Lignières Faugères vineyard

Another celebrated Faugères wine maker is Jérôme Rateau of Chateau Haut Lignières. Jerôme is relatively young for a wine-maker, just 42 years old, but he has dedicated himself to learning his craft and producing the best wines possible.

Jérôme Rateau originally trained as a wine maker in Bordeaux. He worked for a few years as a consulting oenologist (or Wine Wizard) in the Médoc wine region, before picking up a prized Cellar Master position for a vineyard in Saint Emilion. In 2007, Jerôme moved to the Faugères wine region, in the heart of Languedoc. He found a small 12-hectare vineyard, located in the small village of Cabrerolles, which had established vines planted in the rocky shale soil.

The vineyard is composed of 6 different types of grapes: Mourvèdre, Carignan, Cinsault, Syrah, Grenache and the little known, Aramon.

I think where Chateau Haut Lignières absolutely nail it, is in their choice of distinctive wine labels. They don't bother with the dreay old French wine labels with a pencil drawing of an old Chateau and a list of boring details. Instead they choose bold designs which really catch your eye and make their wines stand out on the shelves. I particularly like the retro label they use for their wine Le 1er rouge.

Chateau Haut Lignières produces 10 different reasonably priced wines (from €7 to €27), covering white, rosé and deep reds. The Domaine shop and wine tasting premises are open from Monday to Saturday.

Château Haut-Lignières: 188 route de Pézenas, Faugères. 

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Website: www.chateau-hautlignieres.com

Tel: 04 67 95 38 27

Buying Faugères wines

If you are looking to buy some Faugères wines in the local shops, I would certainly look out for the wines from Domaine des Trinites and Chateau Haut Lignières. Other decent Faugères wines include Domaine Leon Barral (whose wines are recommended by Janice Robinson, the Sunday Times wine critic) and I particularly like the wines produced by Abbaye Sylva Plana, a former monastery which has been producing wines for over 800 years. But you can't go far wrong with any wines produced by this tightly controlled appellation (see Faugères AOC for more details about all the Faugères wines). For more great Languedoc wines see our article Best Languedoc Wines.