Pèira Levada Dynamite 2022

Alexandre Durand founded Pèira Levada in 2018, though his journey to Faugères began years earlier. The son of Bergerac winemakers, he relocated to the appellation in 2013 with his partner Sybil Baldassarre, an Italian oenologist who runs her own project, La Grain Sauvage, focusing on white varieties. After working vintages across the Dordogne, Italy, and Burgundy, the couple chose Faugères for its wild beauty and what Alexandre considers among the greatest terroirs in the world.

The domaine name—"Pèira Levada" or "raised stones" in Occitan—references the marble menhirs and rocky outcrops scattered throughout the vineyard parcels. Alexandre works approximately 4.5 hectares divided into twelve small parcels around the communes of Laurens and Cabrerolles. Half sit on the appellation's iconic schist soils; the other half occupy the marble and clay formations that give the estate its distinctive character.

Viticulture follows organic and biodynamic principles, though the estate remains uncertified. Alexandre practices no-till agriculture, allowing wild cover crops to grow spontaneously between rows. This permanent vegetation protects the soil, encourages biodiversity, and promotes microbial life underground. Only mineral and plant-based substances are used for vine protection, supplemented by animal manure for nutrition.

In the cellar, intervention remains minimal. Grapes are hand-harvested in crates, destemmed, and transferred to tank by gravity. Fermentation proceeds spontaneously with indigenous yeasts. No oenological inputs are used, and wines are bottled without fining, filtration, or added sulfites—a practice Alexandre has maintained since 2017. While he remains pragmatic about using small amounts of sulfur if a cuvée needs protection, recent vintages have not required it.

The portfolio includes cuvées like Velvet Underschiste, Lust for Wine, Carignan Radical, and Otium, each reflecting specific parcels and soil types.

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Faugères occupies a distinctive position in the northern reaches of the Languedoc, where the Mediterranean plains give way to the foothills of the Cévennes mountains. This compact appellation, granted AOC status in 1982, has built its reputation on a single defining feature: schist. The dark, fractured rock that dominates the landscape gives Faugères wines their characteristic mineral signature and distinguishes them from neighboring appellations.

Yet schist tells only part of the story. Around the commune of Laurens, marble outcrops punctuate the terrain—a geological anomaly that required early vignerons to blast through rock with dynamite before they could plant vines. These marble and clay soils produce wines of a different character: livelier, more angular, with a driving energy distinct from the rounder profiles of schist-grown fruit.

The appellation covers approximately 2,000 hectares across seven communes, though only a fraction is planted to vine. Wild garrigue—the scrubby, aromatic vegetation of thyme, rosemary, and juniper—covers the hillsides, contributing to the herbal complexity found in local wines. Elevation ranges from 200 to 400 meters, providing cooling influences that preserve freshness despite the Mediterranean warmth.

Traditional Languedoc varieties thrive here: Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Carignan, and Cinsault for reds; small plantings of white varieties exist but remain rare. The appellation produces exclusively red and rosé wines under the Faugères AOC.

A new generation of natural winemakers has discovered Faugères in recent years, drawn by the wild beauty of the landscape, the quality of old-vine material, and affordable land prices compared to more famous French regions. These producers are crafting distinctive, terroir-driven wines that showcase the appellation's potential.

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