France | Languedoc-Roussillon | Domaine Magellan
Domaine Magellan
Summary
One of the more inventive vintners in the Languedoc is former Burgundy winemaker Bruno Lafon, who is now based in the obscure Côtes de Thongue appellation. Lafon moved to the Languedoc in 1998 to start his own winery, Domaine Magellan, with his sister-in-law, Sylvie Legros.
Lafon, whose brother Dominique oversees the famed Burgundian estate of Comtes Lafon, handles the vineyards and winemaking while Legros runs the business side. “We have great terroir in the 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,” Lafon says. When he and Legros bought the estate in 1999, it was a rundown collection of vineyards planted to a multitude of grape varieties; its former owner had planted the range to see which grapes would work best there.
Since the two have rebuilt the winery and now manage 104 acres planted to 13 different varieties, including the Tempranillo grape of Spain.
