Fitou AOC in the southern French region of Corbières is the oldest appellation in the  Languedoc region of southern France. It is a red made mainly from Syrah and Grenache Noir, plus Carignan and Mourvèdre. Anthony Rose says Fitou reached a peak of popularity in the early to mid-1980s. It was then challenged by other affordable reds from Chile, Australia and others.

Terroir: The Fitou region comprises two quite separate and distinct terroirs.

Fitou Maritime or coastal Fitou near the Mediterranean between Perpignan and Narbonne is near the border with Roussillon. It accounts for around one fourth of the land one third of production. It encompasses the commune of  Fitou itself, plus the communes of Caves, Treilles, Leucate and La Palme. The soils of the coast plain are clay-limestone. The main grapes are Carignan noir and Grenache noir, plus a little Syrah and Mourvedre.

Hillside Fitou is 30 minutes drive to the west and provides a total contrast to Fitou Maritime. The soils change from clay-limestone to poorer, schistous (slatey) soils of the Upper Corbières around the communes of Tuchan, Cascastel-des-Corbières, Paziols and Villeneuve-les-Corbières. Yields are lower here and the grapes ripen a fortnight later than those on the coast, producing robust reds that need bottle age.

Bibliography

Anthony Rose, ‘Back in the limelight,’ Wine magazine, March 1994, p.28-31.