Saint-Chinian

The is no obvious border between Faugeres and Saint-Chinian, however, there is some continuity in the style of wine both areas produce. Faugeres produces rounder more fleshier wines and Saint-Chinian put out a more steelier and beefy style of wine.
Only part of Saint-Chinian lies on the vein of schist whereas the ground south of the River Vernazobre at the point where it flows into the River Orb has quite a different geology made of subsoil of chalk formed out of the fossil left in prehistoric times by the receding sea, is covered with a gravelly clayish chalk topsoil. This sharp different in terroir and the fact that the vineyards vary from as much as 300 meters above sea-level in the north to 90 meters
in the south, explains the different styles of wines produced in the area.
The wines grown on schist have a more mineral character with some acidity and a delicate bouquet of smokiness often with liquorice and scents of the garrigue, whereas the wines from the south have a livelier colour which makes them elegant to look at but they have a firm structure which calls for ageing in wood barrels.
Despite the appellation rules the old grape Carignan is still much favoured in the red wine production.