Type: White Wine
Country: France
Region: Gascony
Code: FAIT001
Le Faîte is the iconic wine of the Saint-Mont Appellation and its blending is an unmissable annual event carried out by big names in the wine or gastronomy industry. Le Faîte is produced from the most expressive terroirs of Aignan, Plaisance and Saint-Mont. It's wooden label has been designed in tribute to the generations of winemakeers who have gone before and who kept their best cuvees buried in clay... identified with a wooden marker. An explosion of citrus fruit, litchi and gunflint with an elegant minerality.

Producteurs Plaimont

Situated in the heart of South-West France, the Plaimont vineyards stretch from the foothills of the Pyrenees to the hills and valleys of Gascony covering a uniquely rich terroir. A thousand winegrowers defend the ideals of a cooperative and are committed to managing their vineyards with respect for both the environment and their own time-honoured traditions. With a combination of local grape varieties, knowledge and rigorous hard work, the members of Plaimont have succeeded in producing extremely high quality w...

Initially pale in colour and tinged with green, but with age moving towards a more golden, slightly silvery hue, A rich, crisp attack with an explosion of citrus fruit, litchi and gunflint on the nose. Its youthful aromatic exuberance (tropical fruit) gives way to a greater complexity of of mineral notes with a noble touch of undergrowth
This Saint-Mont's ultra-premium wine is great with shellfish and fish carpaccio when young. However, after several years of ageing, it is a perfect match to subtly-flavoured white meats and mature cheeses
The vinification process mainly takes place in tank and starts with cold skin-contact maceration of the grape harvested in the morning (a period of 8-12 hours for the Gros Manseng, and Petit Manseng and 2-4 hours for the Petit Courbu). Slow pneumatic pressing (juices from the final press are not included) maintains the purity of the free-run wine. Alcoholic fermentation takes place at 19°C following light settling. Ageing: A 6 months period of lees contact is made for the tanks and lees stirring for the barrels. The lees contact plays a determining role for the construction of the mid-palate of this cuvee and also improves its capacity for bottle-ageing.

Joanna Simon, The Festive Red Wine Guide 2024, "This is a perennial favourite, but the exemplary Plaimont co-op has excelled with the 2020 vintage, producing a perfect harmony of weight, texture, intensity, length, tight-wire acidity and flavours of ripe orchard fruit and Sicilian lemons. It’s a blend of local hero grapes Gros Manseng, Petit Courbu and Arrufiac and 40% is aged for a year in barriques (25% new). " The 100 best value wines in UK, March 2024: "Top scoring wine in our recent tasting – this hidden gem is made from the two Mansengs – Petit and Gros. This blend of rare native South West France grapes has a subtle combination of richness, poised ripe tangy citrus fruit, underlying crisp minerally acidity and smooth soft texture. No label on the bottle also adds to the attraction – just an inscribed wooden plank is tied to the neck of the bottle". Rose Murray Brown MW

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