Château Font Barrièle
4 generations of winegrowers
Bought in 1857, the estate and its vineyard have been passed from father to son for four generations.
The arrival of Christian and his wife around ten years ago brought an air of renewal to the estate. Restructuring of the vines, purchase of around twenty additional hectares, opening to export… With twenty years as director of a cooperative cellar for the gentleman, and a career in oenology for the lady, the synergy is perfect and the domain benefits from it.
A lifestyle choice
Although a winemaker, Christian’s father always left him free to make his choices. “The previous generation experienced difficult crises, the work was more difficult and we lacked technical resources… My father gave me the opportunity to choose my path” But if Christian developed a taste for travel and other cultures, he ended up returning to the roots, to take over in the vineyard and rediscover the link to the terroir, family.
A committed winemaker
Today, he in turn recommends to his fifteen-year-old son, who himself wishes to move into oenology, to travel and discover the world before perhaps taking over the field one day. He believes a lot in the future generation and the ecological shift that it will bring to agriculture. “It is the open-mindedness that moves things forward, we are entering a new world in which we need to recreate a balance, to rediscover common peasant sense, and I think that the next generation will bring us new ideas and will allow us to move towards this vital evolution for our profession. It’s very motivating for us, it encourages us to leave them a healthier legacy.” Indeed, after three years of conversion, 2019 will be the year of organic certification for the domain.
On the path to excellence
With an impressive 2018 harvest and the achievement of multiple medals, Château Font Barrièle intends to continue its momentum with a new vintage, the “O Tempora!” “It is the result of in-depth work in the vineyard because I think that 95% of the quality of a wine comes from the vine.” Coming from a terroir among the highest in altitude in Costières de Nîmes, composed of pebbles washed down more than ten meters deep, it will represent the excellence of the property. It will be available between summer and fall, so just a little more patience…
Les Origines 2012, favorite wine
It is a wine that has a lot of complexity, with aromas of truffles and dark chocolate. It will go perfectly with a beef carpaccio with slices of black truffles.