Domaine Fortuné has existed since 1907, when Fortuné Robert planted around 4 hectares of Aramon and Carignan vines around the village of Souvignargues, a few kilometres north-east of Sommières, between Montpellier and Nîmes. 4 generations and 110 years later, the area under vine now comprises 30 hectares, planted to Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Carignan and Merlot for red wines, Cinsault for rosé and Grenache Blanc, Vermentino and Sauvignon for the whites.
The current owner and winemaker Gilbert Robert (great grandson of Fortuné) began working for the family business in 1988 and took the reins completely in 1997, soon converting the whole estate to certified organic status. The terroir is comprised of several different types of soils - hard limestone, marl and clay-limestone being the main types - set in gently rolling countryside, with the Camargue and Mediterranean to the south and the foothills of the Cevennes to the north. In the spring, natural grass is allowed to flourish in the vineyard, which helps to control/maintain the amount of moisture in the soil. In drier times, this grass is destroyed by ploughing and buried in the ground, thus increasing the amount of natural humus in the soil.
The estate is fully organic, with only a little copper sulphate and SO2 - along with occasional herbal mixtures - used for treatment in the vineyards. The winery is equipped with modern stainless steel vats and just a handful of barrels (most of the wines see little or no oak).
We first met Gilbert at a summer 2013 gathering of various wine growers in the area, a number of which we have subsequently imported from - namely, Terre Inconnue, Domaine Adèléandre, Domaine de Foltodon and Domaine de Maruejols.
Given that Gilbert's wines are - in terms of quality-price ratio - up there with the best of them, the only surprise is that it has taken this long to begin importing them. For these are some of the purest and most delicious Languedoc wines it is possible to imagine - the white, rosé and reds are all of a very high quality indeed. We urge you to give them a try and see exactly what we mean!
