About Domaine Leon Barral
French wines are popular across the world. While places like Burgundy are known to any wine lover, hundreds of other small, unexplored places in France produce high-quality wines representing their unique terroirs. Domaine Leon Barral is one such estate located in a small appellation towards the southern part of France.
Located in the quaint little hamlet of Lentheric in the heart of Languedoc, this estate can be found on the Faugeres appellation. Currently, Didier Barral runs the operations of this estate. Though the history of this estate dates back to many years ago, commercial winemaking operations started here only after 1990, after Didier took over. Didier named this place after his grandfather, and his team follows biodynamic winemaking practices in the 30 hectares of vineyards he owns.
Didier rears cows, horses and pigs on the soils to provide natural fertilizer for the farms. The wines produced at Domaine Leon Barral have earthy and mineral accents attached to them. This is because the soils of Faugeres appellation are of schist type. With the vines fully exposed to the sun, and the vineyards enjoying the Mediterranean climate throughout the year, the grapes produced here naturally ripen. Cinsault, Syrah, Carignan, Grenache, Mourvedre, Terret, Viognier and Nissane are cultivated here.
Some of the biodynamic winemaking principles followed here are minimal usage of sulfides, hand-harvesting of the fruits, manual sorting, spontaneous fermentation without filtration, etc. Cement coves, which work with the natural power of gravity, are used for vinification processes. Some of the popular wines made in this estate are:
- Faugeres – made from 50% Carignan, 30% Grenache and 20% Cinsault
- Faugeres Jadis – 50% Carignan, 30% Syrah and 20% Grenache
- Faugeres Valiniere – 80% Mourvedre and 20% Syrah
- Vin de Pays de l” Herault Blanc – 80% Terret Blanc and Gris, 10% Viognier and 10% Rousanne
Buy Domaine Leon Barral wine below.