Since Roman antiquity and until the Middle Ages, the Benedictine monks cared for vineyards in Faugères, some of which were subsequently taken over by the Cistercians. The monastery Abbaye Sylva Plana (built in 1139) has been in the center of this area for almost 900 years. Some adjacent vines are part of the total 54 hectares of vineyard of the Bouchard family.
The vines are planted on slate, limestone and gray marble soils, often with a southern exposure. Summers are very dry and annual precipitation rarely exceeds 700mm per year. All grapes are picked by hand. They work here according to the biodynamic clock, natural treatment, biological composts, plowing with horses and minimal intervention in the cellar. This creates wines with a great 'terroir' expression.
The Faugères appellation is defined by its slate soil, which is the result of numerous geological movements, some of which date back to the primary epoch. Deposits of clay and sand that had accumulated on the seabed over millions of years, bordered at the same time by a mountain, were compressed and brought to extreme temperatures; thus formed these 'millefeuilles' of slate.
The white Faugères is beautiful, elegant and clean. Dry with fine notes of white (stone) fruit. The red wines are all blends of mainly Grenache and Syrah. It starts with the lively scented 'Les Novices' of young vines. Then follows the most famous domain wine 'La Closeraie', with concentration and elegance. The last two wines possess a lot of everything, 'Sogne de L'Abbaye' is large, concentrated, full and powerful. The superlative is called 'Part du Diable' and is one of the most powerful, robust and most concentrated wines from the Languedoc.
There are also two sympathetically priced and more than successful wines, under the name Domaine Deshenry's, white and red from the Pays d'Oc designation of origin.
