Le Clos des Fées: a shining light for Languedoc-Roussillon

Once dismissed as the source of mass-production table wine, Languedoc-Roussillon is earning a growing reputation for quality, thanks to maverick producers like Hervé Bizeul at Le Clos des Fées.

Great wines are often the by-product of a beautiful home, and that has never been truer than with Le Clos des Fées. Surrounded by magnificent stone walls, garrigue shrubs and distant cliffs, Hervé Bizeul’s vineyard is truly something to behold. In addition to its stunning views, Clos des Fées wines benefit from diverse terroir, sustainable agriculture and a talented winemaker whose passion knows no bounds.

In 2022 iDealwine auctions, wines produced by Clos des Fées generated over €25,000 in sales across 320 bottles (the third-highest sales value in their region). The Clos des Fées estate is located in the French region of Languedoc-Roussillon, at the intersection of southern France and northwest Spain.

Home to around one-fifth of all French wine production, Languedoc-Roussillon is one of the largest wine-producing regions in the world. Unfortunately, the wines in this region have historically been considered mass-production table wines. However, its reputation has been growing in recent years thanks to winemakers like Hervé Bizeul, whose devoted pursuit of great Roussillon wines is nothing short of inspiring. The best wines in Languedoc-Roussillon often come from smaller sub-regions such as Terrasses du Larzac, Saint-Chinian, Maury, and Côtes du Roussillon-Villages. For example, of the top 20 producers by value in 2022 iDealwine auctions, seven came from the Larzac plateau area. Boasting some of the most diverse catalogues in the industry, iDealwine is the only major auction house providing frequent opportunities to bid on wines from this region. After all, if we discriminate on the basis of region, we risk missing out on incredible winemakers such as Bizeul. Although he did not begin producing wines until the late 1990s, Bizeul is a lifelong wine enthusiast and industry veteran.

A true renaissance man, he began his career as a sommelier, winning an award in 1981 for best young sommelier in France. He followed his sommelier career with the opening of his own wine bar in Paris before adding journalism to his résumé through a stint in wine writing. In the 1990s, Hervé felt that he needed to begin producing his own wines in order to fully understand this liquid to which he had already devoted so much of his life.

According to the winemaker himself, the land that would eventually become Clos des Fées was love at first sight. He began his transformational journey as a winemaker in 1997. Early support was instrumental in the continuation of his new project, as Hervé was able to sell bottles of the 1998 vintage ‘en primeur ’ in April of the next year. By 2005, French media sources were already calling Clos des Fées the number one estate in Roussillon. The soils of Clos des Fées are extremely diverse, helping add interesting complexity to the wines.

Among the diverse range of rocks and soil types are calcareous limestone, alluvial red clay, shale, mica-schist and granite. They each play different roles, imparting unique characteristics to the resulting wines. Two of the greatest cuvées yet produced by Clos des Fées are La Petite Sibérie and 100 Phrases Pour Éventails. The Grenache Noir grapes of La Petite Sibérie grow on a small, two-hectare plot of old bush vines. La Petite Sibérie is a classic example of Hervé’s early belief that great wines need to experience struggle before achieving greatness.

Engulfed in icy northwesterly winds for nearly two-thirds of the year, the late-ripening grapes require extensive work in the vineyard. Once picked, they undergo a 20-day maceration period with daily push downs. Finally, they are aged in new oak barrels with no added sulphur, regularly being topped up with small amounts of Syrah and Mourvèdre. The cuvée appears regularly in iDealwine auctions, typically selling for between €170 and €200. The 2015 vintage sold for €213 in April.

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While La Petite Sibérie uses some of the region’s classic grape varieties, 100 Phrases Pour Éventails is the opposite. The grapes here come from relatively young Pinot Noir vines. The project was a collaboration between Hervé Bizeul and famous Burgundian winemaker Jean-Yves Bizot after the two had developed a blossoming friendship over their shared passion for winemaking. It was Bizeul’s first attempt at Pinot Noir, and it would pay off in a big way. The 2020 vintage of 100 Phrases Pour Éventails typically sells for around €700 in iDealwine auctions, peaking at €1,302 in June 2022. Clos des Fées is a fantastic producer that proves what is possible in Languedoc-Roussillon – notably, a diverse range of high-quality wines at all price points and for every occasion. For example, there is Les Sorcières, which can be purchased on iDealwine for around €12, or IGP Côtes Catalanes, a classic Roussillon white that sells for €25 and features hauntingly dense notes of peaches and honeysuckle. And yet, Hervé Bizeul’s estate is just one of the many great producers in the region today. Others include Domaine de la Grange des Pères, Mas Jullien, Domaine la Bergerie de l’Arcade and Domaine Peyre Rose. Together, these mavericks of Languedoc-Roussillon have the chance to build a wonderful future for a region that has been historically overlooked by auction-goers.

auction update – in association with iDealwine