Magellan, Domaine

Domaine Magellan is run by Bruno Lafon, who was previously making wine in Burgundy with his brother at Comtes Lafon, arguably one of the greatest Burgundy estates. He moved to Magalas in the Languedoc region in 1998 along with his wife and daughter after discovering this property on a trip to the south of France. Seeing the potential in the sandstone and shale soils, elevation, proximity to the Mediterranean, and the fact that some of the oldest vines in the region were planted here, Bruno set about rehabilitating the estate. The vineyards were converted to organic farming, certified in 2010. Working as simply and traditionally as possible, the grapes are harvested manually and fermentation is done using native yeasts. They avoid the use of new oak in order to allow the true flavors of each cuvée to be showcased. With vineyards in Pezenas, Magellan’s wines rival in quality the best of the Languedoc due to Bruno’s attention to subtlety, learned from his lifelong experience in Burgundy. In Bruno’s words, “we have great terroir in Languedoc, but we are young—it took 1,000 years for regions like Burgundy to become what they are today. We in the Languedoc should make good wines that are good values as well.”