In June 2015, La Clape became the Languedoc’s first « Appellation Communale». This latest success is however, only the most recent chapter in a winemaking history that dates back 2,000 years! Julius Cesar gifted this rocky outcrop overlooking the Mediterranean to his most favoured legionnaires as a reward. The Roman soldiers of the 10th Legion were thus the first to plant vines on the La Clape headland. Their choice of the Bourboulenc grape variety was no accident, since it was considered in Greek mythology to confer wisdom on those who drank it! Traders through and through, the Romans exported their wines widely and with great success.
Winemaking continued for centuries and more than a thousand years later, the Languedoc was brought under the rule of the French King Louis VIII. Much of the region was then governed, on behalf of the King, by the Baillys d’Anglès from 1226 until the French Revolution. During that time the property was occupied for 500 years by a royal garrison in charge of guarding the entrance to the Aude river, an important maritime trading route. It was Barthélémy Etienne d’Anglès, local mayor, who took the property back after the Revolution. The vineyards remained the property of the Anglès family for more than a hundred years. After the estate was split in two in the late 19th century, the Fabre family was ableto reunite it as Château d’Anglès at the beginning of this new and promising millenium.
From the Médoc to the Languedoc... not such a great leap after all for Eric and Christine Fabre in 2001, in their search for a high quality terroir in the South of France. Both from winemaking families, their intuition lead them to the terroir of La Clape... and straight to Château d’Anglès. Eric Fabre’s wealth of experience, including eight years as technical director at Château Lafite Rothschild, enabled him to overcome the considerable challenges awaiting them. Restructuring the vineyard was high priority in order to balance the assembly of traditional grape varieties such as Mourvèdre, Syrah, Grenache or Carignan for the reds and Bourboulenc, Roussanne and Marsanne for the whites. Each section of the 45 hectares on the estate is closely followed under the paternal eye of Eric Fabre, with a real respect for the environment. Round, fresh, charming, precise, complex, structured, delicate –are all qualities of the Château d’Anglès Great Wines that reflect the values held by Eric and Christine Fabre.
