About Abbaye Sylva Plana

Since Roman antiquity and until the Middle Ages, Benedictine monks took care of vineyards in Faugères, some of which were then taken over by the Cistercians. The monastery Abbaye Sylva Plana (built in 1139) has been at the center of this area for nearly 900 years. Some adjacent vines are part of the Bouchard family's total 54 hectares of vineyard.

The vines are planted on soils of slate, limestone and gray marble with mostly a southern exposure. Summers are very dry and annual rainfall rarely exceeds 700mm per year. All grapes are picked by hand. People here work according to the biodynamic clock, natural treatment, organic composts, plowing with horses and minimal intervention in the cellar. This results in wines with great 'terroir' expression.

The 'appellation' Faugères is defined by its slate soil, which is the result of numerous geological movements, some dating back to the primary era. Deposits of clay and sand that had accumulated over millions of years on the seabed, at the same time bounded by a mountain, were compressed and brought to extreme temperatures; thus forming these 'mille- feuilles' of slate.

The white Faugères is beautiful, elegant and clean. Dry with fine notes of white (stone) fruit. The reds are all assemblages of mainly grenache and syrah. It starts with the vibrantly fragrant 'Les Novices' from young vines. Then follows the most famous estate wine 'La Closeraie,' with concentration and elegance. The last two wines possess much of everything, 'Sogne de L'Abbaye' is big, concentrated, full-bodied and powerful. The superlative is called 'Part du Diable' and is among the most powerful, tough and concentrated wines from the Languedoc.

There are also two sympathetically priced and more than successful wines, under Domaine Deshenry's name, white and red from the Pays d'Oc appellation of origin.