Terres Fidèles, Fidèle, Corral d'En Pi, AOP Collioure Rouge, Roussillon, France, 2022

Producer Profile

Over the last two decades we’ve been creating wines in the wilds of southern France

Embarking on adventures; exploring, discovering and rediscovering remarkable places and vineyard sites. From the foothills and valleys beneath the iconic Pyrénées, out through the gorges to the coastal areas of the Mediterranean. We’ve journeyed with our friends and exceptional growers, who excel at their craft and have an inherent respect for the land that they and theirs are a part of. It is these people and places that inspire our winemaking. The wines of Terres Fidèles are designed to express the spirit of this extraordinary place, old vine Grenache, Carignan, Malbec, Cinsault, Viognier and more, that are authentically crafted, small batch wines of the wilds.

Viticulture

Grapes are hand-picked from Pi goblet vines situated in Banyuls sur Mer, up to 50 years of age and sit within a corral of pine trees on the terraced schist slopes at around 350m altitude. Parcels of vines are protected by small walled fan-shaped furrows to which a network of converging channels feed the run-off rain water from the slopes.

Winemaking

One third of the grapes were de-stemmed and two-thirds remained whole bunch. Long traditional maceration, some with carbonic fermentation at around 24°C, and left in contact with the lees for a month. Malolactic fermentation was carried out. No fining, no stabilisation, very, very light filtration and then the wine was bottled. It is kept in bottle for 3 months before being released.

Tasting Note

The wine opens up with rich red fruit notes. The palate is juicy and the freshness of the schistous terroir gives a lovely grip and good balance to the wine. With the right levels of extraction, tannins are firm but gentle, supporting black plum flavours and a subtle hint of black olive tapenade.

Food Matching

A flavoursome flame grilled steak, veal or a bowl of pasta.

Awards

The Wine Front 90 Points
Rich style, and kind of malty, with a fair amount of blackstrap liquorice, black and red fruits, a savoury twist of thyme and black olive. It’s fleshy and ripe, quite nutty, and while I like the thick chew of ripe silty tannin, it does feel maybe a little baked in fruit profile, but on the upside the wine has balanced acidity and something of a rhubarb tang, and then comes a toasted peanut finish of good length. 90 Points, GW.