Built around a thermal spring named for the twelfth-century Saint Simeon, Domaine de Fontsainte takes its name from the saint's fount and a winegrowing past that reaches back to the Romans.
Backstory
Roman coins from the era of Marcus Agrippa confirm winemaking at Domaine de Fontsainte in antiquity. The Laboucarie family has made wine here since the seventeenth century, and Yves Laboucarie founded the modern estate in 1971, becoming the first in Corbieres to use carbonic maceration and champion whole-cluster fermentation. His son Bruno Laboucarie took over winemaking in 1993.
The Region
The domaine lies in Boutenac, at the heart of the so-called golden crescent of Corbieres in the Languedoc, long regarded as one of the appellation's finest terroirs.
Vineyards and Farming
At Domaine de Fontsainte, Bruno farms sustainably and holds to the conviction that great wines are made in the vineyard rather than the cellar, keeping treatments to a minimum.
Winemaking
Domaine de Fontsainte ages the reds with roughly 60 percent French oak and 40 percent cement-tank maturation, balancing freshness with aging potential.
The Wines
The Domaine de Fontsainte range includes the Corbieres Rouge Tradition, the old-vine Reserve La Demoiselle, the cuvee Centurion and the pale Gris de Gris rose.
