The Wine: Hirsute Red 2019
Les Equilibriste Hirsute 2019 is a red wine made from a blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot from Bergerac, France.
The Producer: Les Equilibriste
Les Equilibriste is formed by duo François de Monval, a wine merchant, cellar and restaurant owner in Paris (La Canonnière), and Florent Girou, a travelling oenologist.
The Region: Bergerac
The Bergerac region is located in Southwestern France, around the city of Bergerac, east of Bordeaux and south of the Dordogne river. In Bergerac wine has been made for centuries and yet the region is not well-known. The reason for this is its proximity to Bordeaux, perhaps the most famous wine region in the world.
Bergerac not only borders with Bordeaux but also shares its ampelographic profile: grape varietals grown in the region are the same grown in Bordeaux. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot for red wines, Sauvignon Blanc, Muscadelle, and Semillon, for white wines, are the most widely planted grape varietals in Bergerac. Monbazillac and Cotes de Bergerac are the AOC appellations where the best-quality wines can be found.
The Terroir of Bergerac
The climate of Bergerac is on average maritime, however, as we move away from the Atlantic Ocean, it becomes gradually colder during the winter and hotter during the summer. Along the Dordogne river, we have higher humidity, and that’s where we can find sweet wines made with the noble rot technique. There is no soil formation typical to Bergerac: soils range from limestone, gravel with clay, and sand.