Le Champ d’Orphée Côtes du Tarn Rouge 2022

Location: France, Sud-Ouest

Winemaker: Stéphane Lucas

Grapes: Braucol (Fer Servadou)

Soil: Limestone, gravel

Winemaking: Hand harvest, native yeast fermentation in stainless steel. No sulfites added.

From the Importer Jeffrey Alpert Selections: Farming a mere 0.77 hectares, Stéphane Lucas has dedicated himself farming the local grape Braucol without any chemical treatments. He eschews all herbicides and pesticides in the vineyards and believes a healthy biodiversity is best for his vineyard. Walking through his domaine, one finds various grains and vegetables among his vines, demonstrating a healthy biodiversity. While Le Champ d’Orphée is firmly situated within the Gaillac border, Stéphane nevertheless refuses to put the AOC on his wine’s labels, as he finds their regulations regarding yields and farming practices to be antithetical to his philosophy of winemaking. Until he sees the reform that him and a number of his colleagues in Gaillac are looking to see, Stéphane’s wines will continue to be bottled until the IGT Côtes du Tarn.