La Clape Blanc, Chateau d'Anglès 2024

Dry, clean and fruity with a salty, lemony tang, this is a delicious blend of bourboulenc, a southern French variety which, according to the ancients, gave wisdom to all who drank of it, here with grenache blanc and roussanne in support. Saltiness and humid sea breezes are everywhere here, which is just as well as it rarely rains. Chateau d'Anglès was one of the winners of our 2024 Climate & Nature fund and are one of our Wine Society Pioneers for their approach to sustainable production and their impressively holistic approach to agroecology and soil health. Over the next three years they aim to adopt a number of different regenerative farming practices including, planting 950 trees, introducing 300 sheep to winter graze the vineyards and installing 80 beehives together with local partners. The Fabre family minimise water use on the hot Languedoc, watering only when allowed with collected rainwater and underground drip irrigation that uses soil sensors to monitor conditions. They never till the soil to leave microbial and invertebrate life undisturbed and cover cropping is grasses from the wheat and corn families to open up the soil to rainfall. They don’t mow but roll the grasses to flatten them. Birds are encouraged, helped by pesticides never being used, and to stop any pests from multiplying they employ sexual confusion techniques on the critters! They are delighted to say that wildlife is coming back before their eyes, with partridges, hares and butterflies all seen regularly. What a joy and a vindication.