In the schist
France and Spain each have an appellation – Faugères and Priorat – based on schist that produces some extraordinary, bold, yet fine-textured red wines, with suppleness and surprising fragrance to the fruit for warm regions.
Faugères
Faugères schist defines the appellation, where the days, and nights, are warm, and blended reds have a freshness that defies that warmth.
Quinta da Gaivosa
The Gaivosa estate is one of the six Douro properties of the Alves de Sousa family. Its 25 hectares of vines have an average age of 60 years, planted on the typical schist soils of the Douro valley.
Chapoutier’s Schieferkopf in Alsace
A five-hectare vineyard plot in Bernardvillé forms the core of a new Michel Chapoutier Alsatian joint venture for a series of wines sold under the Shieferkopf label. The first, 2009 vintage, wines were presented in London.
Priorat(o)
Priorat in the north-east of the country is the source of some of Spain’s most sought-after red wines.
Alvaro Palacios
Alvaro Palacios in Priorat
