Sylvain Fadat is one of the great winemakers of the Languedoc. Since he took over from his father in 1989, he has issued a string of wonderful expressive wines from his small domaine.
Domaine d'Aupilhac, owned by the Fadat family, is based in Montpeyroux, 36 km north-west of Montpellier. The cellars were founded in 1989, behind the Fadat's home in the heart of the village. Sylvain Fadat, the fifth generation of winemakers in his family, has earned a reputation for superb quality and is considered one of the very best producers in the region. He farms organically and biodynamically, with the utmost respect for the soil.
There are 22 hectares of vineyard, mainly contained in the Montpeyroux sub region of Aupilhac, and the vines grow on terraces, some of which date back to the 11th century, below the Château Castellas. Some vines are at 1200 feet above sea level.
Carignan, grenache, syrah, cinsault and mourvédre are all grown for reds, and some white is made from roussanne, marsanne, grenache blanc and vermentino.
The domaine green harvests and keeps yields to an absolute minimum. The grapes are destemmed and fermentation is carried out using indigenous yeasts. Each grape variety is vinified and barrel-aged separately until the July following the harvest when blending takes place. Finally the wine is bottled under gravity and without filtration.
