After a first professional life in the world of finance in Paris, Vincent and Isabelle Goumard decide to quit everything and take over a few hectares of vines from Mas Jullien. They learned from their role model and mentor, Olivier Jullien in the heart of the Terrasses du Larzac.

The couple very quickly showed the extent of their talent, with a very detailed understanding of their plots and geological variations, a respect for plants and high wine-growing standards. The estate, which now has 16 hectares of vines, is cultivated like a garden using certified organic and biodynamic agriculture.

The result is dazzling, with cuvées characterized by their terroirs, long in the mouth, explosive, aromatic and mineral. Cal Demoura, which means “you have to stay” in Occitan, is a symbol of the magnetism of a great terroir. There are happy conversions, especially those motivated by a passion.

The RVF has ranked it among the “Great reference estates” and Bettane & Desseauve among the “very high quality producers who are the glory of the French vineyard”. Recognition that soon crowns the twenty years of a property that sits at the top of Languedoc, alongside Mas Daumas Gassac, Granges de Pères, Mas Jullien, Domaine Peyre Rose and many other names that make you dream.

Le Domaine La Provenquière, c’est l’histoire d’une passion pour le vin et pour le terroir du Languedoc, transmise de génération en génération depuis 1954. Depuis Achille Robert, fondateur du vignoble, jusqu’à ses petits-enfants aujourd’hui, tous ont à cœur de sublimer le potentiel du terroir du Languedoc au cœur du domaine.
Figures emblématiques du domaine, Claude et sa sœur Brigitte cogèrent l’exploitation familiale depuis 1994. Représentant la quatrième génération de la famille, Marie, Jean et Antoine s’engagent eux aussi au quotidien au cœur du domaine. La nouvelle génération se fait la garante de l’alliance subtile et prolifique entre tradition vigneronne et innovation viticole. Elle y pratique une viticulture raisonnée, labellisée HVE 3 et respectueuse du patrimoine viticole emblématique du Languedoc.

À ce savoir-faire traditionnel et ce respect du patrimoine familial viennent s’ajouter des touches d’innovation : du travail précis de la terre et de la vigne à la vinification et l’élevage des vins ; du respect des spécificités des parcelles en passant par la parfaite connaissance des cépages et la maîtrise des vendanges.

Hervé Bizeul, creator of Clos des Fées, is quite the character.

He’s also formidably accomplished. He’d been a sommelier emeritus, a restaurateur, and a food and wine critic before throwing himself body and soul into the production of Côtes du Roussillon wines in his mid-forties. Eloquent, insightful, proud and with a flair for the dramatic, he found the idea of making “basic” wines to be beneath his dignity. It’s well-known today that he accomplished his goal of superlative quality in an under-recognized region.

The main guides of France wine all agree on the excellence. Could his consecration in these guides be even more impressive? It is quite possible, yes. Perhaps the hint of critical reserve might partially explain his turbulent personality. Adding to his accolades is the strong impact of his blog, which Bizeul maintains with passion and individuality.

In our view, all top producers should be able to produce, as unconditionally as their top cuvées, excellent wines at remarkably low prices. To wit, his cuvée Les Sorcières, one of Clos des Fées wines in the SAQ’s specialty section, is all about easy, instant happiness. Hervé Bizeul’s wines cover a spectrum of price points. In the mid-range, his cuvée Vieilles Vignes is a wise choice for those patient enough to wait a few years. The cuvées Clos des Fees and La Petite Sibérie offer proof that Roussillon’s terroirs deserve to be considered among the very best.