The 2022 wines of Thierry Forestier are here! Among our favourite expressions of the Gard, Thierry manages to produce featherweight wines without losing any of the heady garrigue he loves.
In the village of Souvignargues on clay and limestone, Thierry farms 12 hectares of native Gard varieties, having traded in his career in IT for that of a vigneron back in 2004. A friendship with Eric Pfifferling was the catalyst for working as gently as possible, minimal intervention in every sense of the word.
Farming gnarled old vines organically in co-planted parcels surrounded by forest, prioritising soil health and diversity, Thierry has become something of a luminary in the area. Now nearly twenty years into his journey, he's a champion of zero-sulphur winemaking and careful farming, he's helped fledgling growers with vinifications, lends a hand in re-training their vines back to traditional goblet pruning, or helping sourcing grapes when growers hit hard vintages.
In the cellar, Thierry keeps macerations short, whole bunches rarely stay in tanks for more than 5 days, presses are gentle, ageing is simple. A light touch is the order of the day in the cellar, and it shows.
Available in small quantities, those who have been lucky enough to familiarise themselves with Thierry's wines are well versed in why we consider them so special!
The wines are detailed now below. With thanks to Bryan McComb for the Thierry portraits 📸
AVAILABLE NOW
REDS
2022 - Anathème Rouge - Carignan, Aramon
Thierry's park-drinking red, he picks four of his twelve hectares for this cuvee: a wine to be enjoyed with friends, he ensures there is enough of it to go round! Majority Carignan with a little of the prized Aramon, vines are planted over clay-limestone at 115m above sea level. Whole bunch maceration of both varieties together for 5 days, free-run and press-juices assembled together and aged 9 months in concrete tank. Bottled unfined, unfiltered, no additions.
2022 - Salve Ager - Grenache , Cinsault (MAGNUM AVAILABLE)
Delicate, detailed, with great tension in 2022, a lovely fine line of tannin and a saline black-olive lick. Majority Grenache, lifted with Cinsault. Vines are planted over clay-limestone at 115m above sea level. Whole bunch maceration of both varieties together for 5 days, free-run and press-juices assembled together and aged 9 months in concrete tank. Bottled unfined, unfiltered, no additions.
2022 - Aramonix - Aramon
Thierry makes tiny volumes of this cult-cuvee: picking less than a hectare parcel of 80 year old Aramon planted over clay-limestone. Just a 4 day whole-bunch maceration, free-run and press-juices assembled together and aged 9 months in an enamel tank. Bottled unfined, unfiltered, no additions.
2022 - Puech Coucou - Oeillade, Cinsault
Another micro-cuvee Thierry experimented with in '21, we're thrilled to see it becoming an annual release: picked from a beatiful, forested parcel of old-vine Cinsault and Oeillade that used to be blended into Salve Ager. Puech Coucou has real finesse, dense with fruit but nimble, elegant and long. Whole bunch maceration of both varieties together for 8 days, free-run and press-juices assembled together and aged 9 months in concrete tank. Bottled unfined, unfiltered, no additions.
