The ethical drinker: Why Château d'Anglès deserves the spotlight

Château d'Anglès: Embracing regenerative viticulture

Château d’Anglès sits on the northeastern flank of the Massif de la Clape, a rugged, sparsely populated limestone outcrop that rises above the glistening cobalt waters of the Mediterranean on Languedoc’s western coast.

The estate was bought in 2002 by Eric Fabre, ex-technical director of Château Lafite Rothschild, on the hunt for suitable Mourvèdre terroir. With Bandol (on Provence’s Côte d’Azur) too expensive, he found La Clape and its Mediterranean soul, and made the voyage from Médoc to Languedoc.

His son Vianney took over in 2017, converting to organics then biodynamics and now regenerative viticulture.

When I visited back in 2023, I was struck not only by the wines’ clarity and saline imprint – not to mention their affordability – but also Vianney’s excitement and acute observations around soil health.

What interests him isn’t dogma but results. ‘I don’t think the vine cares very much about the moon and the stars,’ he says. Instead, it’s visible soil regeneration and the impact on the wines themselves that push him forward.

‘Grapes reach maturity, both alcoholic and phenolic, earlier, at a lower degree of alcohol,’ he says. ‘We’ve seen that at 13.5%, Syrah is ripe, while before it was at 14.5% or maybe more.’

Recognition and support

I was delighted to hear that Château d’Anglès was one of the winners of The Wine Society’s inaugural 2024 Climate and Nature Programme.

The UK member-owned merchant launched the scheme to award financial support directly to its producers each year, ‘insetting’ funding directly into its supply chain rather than offsetting equivalent funds in external carbon removal schemes. In the first year, £64,000 was distributed between 11 producers worldwide.

Curious to see how meaningful that investment could be on the ground, I checked in with Vianney and Dom de Ville, the Society’s director of sustainability and social impact, to understand how the funding had been used.

Investment such as this makes particular sense in La Clape, a highly protected area that’s classified as a natural heritage site, a regional natural park and a European Union Natura 2000 site.

Vineyard plots are stitched into hollows and vales, wedged into crevices beneath rocky cliff faces, skirting dense pine forests and patches of scrubby garrigue.

It’s an improbably wild enclave, considering its close proximity to the city of Narbonne to the west, and wide sandy beaches and well-trodden tourist trails to the east.

'This thoughtful, practical work, backed by the right support, feeds directly into the glass'

One of the cornerstones of regenerative agriculture is avoiding ‘opening’ the soil through tilling, which disrupts soil structure and delicate underground networks of microorganisms.

The cost of equipment can be a significant barrier to the adoption of regenerative practices, so most of the funding that Château d’Anglès received was put towards a no-till direct seeder – a machine that’s used to sow multi-seed cover crops without opening the soil.

Vianney reports that this has been a great success across the domaine’s 43ha.

He also says that one of the best parts of this process has been working with a community workshop called L’Atelier Paysan to build a homemade roller to flatten the cover crops during early summer, which helps to protect soils against the increasingly high temperatures, retain soil moisture and reduce erosion.

The funding has also allowed the estate to plant more than 500 trees and shrubs (towards a target of 950 over three years), and install 80 beehives in spring, and for Vianney to attend an extensive agroecology course.

This thoughtful, practical work, backed by the right kind of support, feeds directly into the glass, making for better, fresher, more compelling wines.

It’s a brilliant example of how retailers can use their influence intelligently, showing how small projects can make a big impact.

Sip to make a difference

With its wafts of sea spray and citrus, Château d’Anglès, Classique Blanc 2024 (94pts, £11.50 The Wine Society) has the hallmarks of an excellent organic La Clape white made with a hefty dollop of Bourboulenc, a grape thought to originate in Vaucluse, Provence. It’s as crystalline and clear as the salty waters lapping at its feet, balancing the crunch of an underripe pêche de vigne with a briny tang and lots of texture. There’s a hint of honeysuckle and lemon-pith amaro on the finish. Amazing pleasure to value ratio.

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