Fabrice Feytout - Vigneron at Pecharmant
Sub appellation of Bergerac in Aquitaine
Fabrice Feytout is passionate
about his vines and wines. Andrew Jefford in his new
book The New France: A Complete Guide to Contemporary French Wine (Mitchell Beazley Wine Guides S.)
The PECHARMANT Appellation
lies on a predominantly south-facing slope covered
with nearly 1,000 acres of vines, northeast of the
town of Bergerac. It produces very rich red wines with
excellent ageing potential, cconsiderable complexity
and finesse,
See
Map of the Bergerac appellations
Chateau Beauportail, on the appropriately
named "route des Cabernets" has been producing
wine since the 18th Century. Now Fabrice Feytout is
determined to produce high quality wines, and is starting
to get a reputation for some stunning recent vintages.
In the vineyard he plants his vines with high density, but with summer pruning (the "vendange verte") he reduces the yield per hectare to 65%-70%the permitted maximum. He is gradually re-planting at a density of 5000 vines per hectare - so only getting about 9-10 bottles of wine from each vine! This ensures real concentration of flavours and minerals, and only the best, ripe grapes get picked for vinification.
You will seldom see vines this closely planted, or find winemakers prepared to sacrifice such a large proportion of their potential crop in order to concentrate on quality!
In the cellar he ages his wines in oak barriques - "I favour a long slow maturation period to ensure not only depth of colour, but also maximum flavour in my wines"
CONTACT -
Fabrice Feytout, Chateau Beauportail, route des Cabernets, 24100 Pecharmant
T: +33 (0)5.53.24.85.16 Fax : +33 (0)5.53.61.28.63 E: truffiere@beauportail.com
Website: www.beauportail.com