Tucked away in the wild hills of Vingrau, in the Vallée de l’Agly, Domaine du Clos des Fées is the life’s work of Hervé and Claudine Bizeul, who founded the estate in 1998. Once a sommelier and wine writer, Bizeul turned his back on city life to carve a vineyard from rock and garrigue. Today, Clos des Fées is a reference point for precision, balance, and terroir expression in the Roussillon.
The domaine spans ~30 hectares of fragmented plots between 150 and 450 m altitude. Soils alternate between clay-limestone, marl, and schist, producing low yields and naturally concentrated fruit. Constant Tramontane winds aerate the vines, preserving freshness despite the Mediterranean heat.
Vine age ranges from 40 to 100+ years, many in traditional gobelet training. Work is fully manual under viticulture raisonnée principles, with yields often under 25 hl/ha.
Each parcel is vinified separately, with native yeasts and controlled extraction. Fermentation takes place in concrete or stainless steel; élevage varies by cuvée.
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Les Sorcières – Grenache, Syrah, Carignan; aged in concrete and large demi-muids for 8–10 months.
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Vieilles Vignes – Grenache, Syrah, Carignan, Mourvèdre; 14–16 months in 30–50% new French oak.
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Le Clos des Fées – flagship; Syrah 50%, Grenache 20%, Carignan 20%, Mourvèdre 10%; 18 months in 50% new oak.
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La Petite Sibérie – 100% Grenache from a one-hectare site battered by wind over 200 days per year; 20 months in new barrels, produced in minute quantity (< 1,000 bottles).
Clos des Fées wines combine Mediterranean power with Atlantic-like freshness. Deeply colored, intensely aromatic, structured yet polished, they reveal notes of black fruit, garrigue herbs, graphite and spice. Aging potential is substantial — 10 to 20 years for the top cuvées.
“The wines of Clos des Fées are paradoxical: generous yet taut, born of sun and wind.” — Hervé Bizeul
Through obsessive viticulture and restrained precision, Domaine du Clos des Fées captures the rugged beauty of the Roussillon — wines that speak not of technique, but of place.
For distribution in USA.
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