Jean-Marc Lafage’s family has been growing grapes in Roussillon for six generations but it was Jean-Marc who had the ambition to stop selling the grapes to the local co-op and create a domaine. He and his oenologist wife, Eliane, founded Domaine Lafage in 1996 and the estate now runs to some 138 hectares of vines across Roussillon, with parcels in the Agly Valley, Aspres and Perpignan.
The Agly Valley, with its black shale and layered schist soil in the shadow of ruined Cathar castles is one of Europe’s most exciting terroirs. Eliane and Jean-Marc specialise in growing old vines that impart pronounced minerality and concentration to their wines. The region is best known for its red wines, but don’t forget to try the whites too. Grenache Blanc is one of the most underrated grapes in the world of wine and Domaine Lafage produces some of the very best we have ever tasted.
