Le Cartel, Grenache Noir Sur Calcaire, Languedoc, France

Fredi Torres makes some of the Spanish wines we get really excited about - Lectores Vini Priorat Classic for one - and is busy with many projects there so hadn't really meant to get involved in something else but... when his friend Jean-Remi Mourad persuaded him to have a look at some old vineyards over the border in France he saw the extraordinary potential and couldn't help but get involved. 

Fredi was born in Galicia but grew up in Switzerland where he was a  musician and DJ - he trained at the famous SAE School in Zurich. He was first introduced to wine by a girlfriend in Switzerland, and his first winemaking internship was with Henri Chollet in the vineyards of Lavaux.

FTV (Fredi Torres Viticultor) is involved in many different projects, not just wine but also festivals, but always with the aim of respecting the people, landscape and history of each place. Twenty years ago, when he first started making wine in Spain, Fredi was one of the first to practice biodynamic farming and to pick relatively early. Now others are following his lead but Fredi always seems to stay a little ahead of the pack.

This red is made from very old Grenache vines growing on the hillsides of the Massif de la Clape, just north of the town of Gruissan, close to the Mediterranean coast. A very arid climate and poor, thin, stony, limestone soils give the wines a racy, focused style. And Fredi's careful, sensitive winemaking coaxes amazing complexity and almost delicacy from a grape variety that can produce wines that are prone to excessive alcohol.

Great to drink with some typically Mediterranean style food - herb aromatic stews, grilled vegetables or meat, or some great charcuterie.

Producer - Le Cartel (Fredi Torres and Jean-Remi Mourad)
Country - France
Region - Gruissan, Languedoc
Variety / Blend - Grenache Noir
Wine Style - Red Wine
Farming - Organic
Vegan