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9% ABV

Vin de Pays des Coteaux du Libron

The grapes are made into a wine as normal and then 40% of this wine is then put into 2 machines.

Firstly a reverse osmosis machine which separates the wine into 2 parts. By way of the smaller particles passing through a membrane on its way through a tunnel.

Part A is the alcohol and water which are the smallest particles so go through the membrane and then Part B which is the flavours tanins fruit etc...

Then Part A is passed through a colon to separate the alcohol and water.

The alcohol is sent to a distillery to make Fine de Languedoc.

The water is then added back to Part B and in turn put back into the untouched (remaining 60%) wine.

Therefore reducing the total volume which would have been around 14% to 9%.

I would like people to say it is lower alcohol rather than low as low to me implies Kaliber rather than a wine that is the same alcohol levels as when we were wee which is the reason they wanted to do it. "So that we can drink at lunchtimes and go back to work in the afternoon, to enjoy wine and not to be drunk after 2 glasses”

13% ABV

Vin de Pays d'Herault

5 years ago a friend of Juliens asked him to make a wine for a gypsy jazz festival in Paris and Cabu-a famous caricature was asked to design the labels. It was a great success and although the jazz fair was a one off the wine has continued. Les Temps de Gitans’ is ‘the time of the gypsies’ and the wine is a fun wine to be enjoyed with friends. It is organic, well made, has personality and a clarity of fruit not oftn found at this price point.

13% ABV

Appellation Coteaux du Languedoc

The nose is like smelling a strong French cheese, of farmyard rusticity but the palate is very clean, juicy round with soft ripe tannins and balanced alcohol. It’s simple , well made and versatile.

13.5% ABV

Vin de Pay d'Oc

Made by our friends in Pic St Loup, Trevor and I chose this blend earlier in the year after many a tasting. It is a wine (like all of their wines which are listed on these various pages) that we are proud to have the St J label upon.

It has the warm fruit you'd expexct from this southen region with dry soft tannins with a hint of Garrigue rusticity. Easy to drink it is, forgettable it is not

13% ABV

Appellation Moulin a Vent Controllee

Hints of dark earth and soft plumy red fruits play together in this luscious feeling wine. There are lovely dark spicy streaks as well, but it's the finesse of that almost damp, oozing feel that really makes this wine. There are hints of older wood barrels at the end of the long palate, but it fits the style of the wine well.

13% ABV

Appellation Cote Du Rhone Controllee

This is by far the most interesting and well made Cote du Rhone I have tried. The viognier (white) adds a little freshness. The same blend is used in Cote Rotie. Eric is very good at standing back and letting his grapes and the parcels they grow on do the talking, and it shows. Wine like this can only be made by someone who has the confidence to do nothing and not interfere. He wouldn’t want to be labelled as Natural or organic even though he probably is a little of both, he just does what he does quietly without fanfare.

12.5% ABV

Vin de France

Similar in taste to a good Beaujolais but with a little more Loire funk and structure. It is a lot cooler in the Loire than in Beaujolais and the fruit is less strawberries and more raspberry and cherries. Great served chilled.

12.5% ABV

Vin de France

The name means 'a little chat/catch up'. This is certainly a wine for sharing with friends.

It is lovely chilled. The fruit is incredibly fresh and clear but then there’s a underlying prickle of earthy rusticity in the tannins that makes this so much more than just a chilled red.

14% ABV

Appellation Cotes du Rousillion Controllee

This wine is incredibly popular, it has an elegance hardly ever seen at this price point. It is soft and ripe with juicy fruits and soft round tannins.

11.5% ABV

Vin de France

The Grolleau seems to bring out the best in the Gamay here. Oodles of summery, fresh berries and just the right balance of acidity to fruit. The Grolleau also gives an almost chewy texture that steers the wine away from what can sometimes be Gamay's over acidic nature. Add a good twist of Natural Loire funk into the mix and you have one of the most fashionable wines this year (much to the winemakers' surprise). 

Served chilled in the summer and enjoyed on its own or with small plates of simple light fare it is the perfect way to while away a couple of hours...

13% ABV

Vin de France

Dark, spicy, leafy fruits with a lovely, juicy, tart acidity and delicate chocolate finish. A herby palate with a hint of pencil case character.

12.5% ABV

Vin de Pay Franche Comte

Finding well priced and drinkable Pinot Noir is fast becoming our holy grail. Time and again we seem to struggle with one or even both of these criteria.

This is Xavier's entry level Pinot. It is very, very fruity. It is very light - perhaps more accurately described as a heavy rose, but most definitely very juicy and drinkable with remarkably pure pinot notes.

13% ABV

Appellation Fronton Controllee

12% ABV

Appellation St Nicholas de Bourgueil Controllee

13% ABV

Appellation Coteaux d'aix-en-Provence Controllee

11.5% ABV

Vin de France

A wonderful fruity, light wine - slightly different from the usual set of flavours you find in light Loire reds.

The Grolleau seems to bring out the best in the Cabernet Franc - lots of lovely strawberry flavours with just a slight nod towards the chunky tannins that so often puts people off this variety. It also adds a nice pink appley character with a faint spiciness.

It is the feel and texture that impresses most - it's light without being thin and acidic yet it has body without being astringent and clumsy.

13.5% ABV

Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes

This is effectively David's baby Crozes Hermitage.

It's easy to recognise the same intensity and dark, pepper spiced fruit that you find in the rest of his range. But it's all toned down a notch or two. The tannins are softer, there's a bit more meat and a bit less direct intensity. 

It still ticks all the right Northern Rhone boxes and is a better wine than many AOC wines from the region!!!

13% ABV

Vin de France

13% ABV

Appellation Coteaux du Languedoc Controllee

Lovely dark berry fruits and lots of spice. This has a more savoury, firmer structure over their basic red. Almost a stoney minerality. Quite serious wine at this price.

12.5% ABV

Appellation Touraine Controllee 

When Vincent first produced this Touraine rouge, the INAO inspectors, upon tasting a sample, denied him the Touraine AOC, proclaiming the wine atypical because of its structure and concentration. He was forced to label it as Vin de Pays, which, at least in theory, lowers the sale price and increases the difficulty of marketing the wine. After Ricard sold out his entire production, the INAO inspectors granted AOC status in the following vintage. The name, which can be translated in many different ways, i.e., "The Nasty Little Red," is meant as a thumb of the nose to the authorities.

13% ABV

Appellation Chinon Controllee

Beaumont is the name of the Lieu dit (vineyard name) that these vines grow on in Chinon.

It is full of ripe cassis and blackcurrent leaf with long, fine, prominent tanins, balenced acidity promoting the fruit and an inky Cabernet Franc Finish.

13.5% ABV

Appellation Coteaux du Languedoc Controllee

Chunky, dark spicy fruits on the nose and even more in the mouth. A nice purity. Well balanced throughout but powerful.

13.5% ABV

Appellation Cote du Rhone Controllee

12% ABV

Appellation Bourgueil Controllee

Bone dry, dark black fruit with great acidity. 'Trinch' is named after the French word for the noise glasses make when clinked together in celebration and is a happy wine to enjoy with friends.

12.5% ABV

Appellation Savigny-le-Beune 1er Cru Controllee

The Lavières gets its name from the stone found in the sub-soil, which is covered with a very fine 30cm layer of stony brown earth . This premier cru is very fragrant when young and remains so with age, which is typical of this appellation. It makes a tender, elegant and pleasant wine when young due to its finesse. It gives off several aromas of red fruits and also violet.

12.5% ABV

Appellation Chorey-Les-Beune Controllee

14.5% ABV

Appellation Minervois Controllee

13% ABV

Appellation Anjou Controllee

Julien and Marc are very passionate winemakers they believe in Freshness of the fruit and this wine really allows the fruit to sing. Called 53 as 1953 was the year in which the vines were planted. More polished, elegant, structured Cabernet Franc with a great concentration of blackcurrent fruit. The 53 has less of the wild funky notes than the younger cuvees (Jardin and Chausee). 

14% ABV

Appellation Cotes du Roussillion Controllee

40 - 80 year old vines

So, why the Sorcieres is called the Sorcières (I will try, my english is bad...) : it is because of the "Fées" (the fairies) of Clos des fées. We wanted a word which reminds the fairies and we chose their friends witches! We wanted to stay in the "magic of the wine".

13.5% ABV

Appellation Vinsobres Controllee

25-60 year old vines.

A very silky feel to this wine - the fruit has a lovely purity as well which is a good counter point to all the dark meaty spice both on the nose and palate. It is quite macho gripy but this seems to fit the wine well. A glorious dark bitter chocolate finish. A wine of interesting contrasts.

13.5% ABV

Appellation Cotes du Roussillion Controllee

A good starting point to discover the wines of Olivier Pithon. His emphasis here is on the fruit charcter whilst paying fine homage to the terroir of the region. 

13.5% ABV

Appellation Cote du Rhone Villages Controllee

A lovely brick red hue to the colour. Spicy, craggy, soft ripe fruits - blueberries and blackberries and a really comforting yet firm structure. The terroir just sings through the wine particularly into the rather lovely finish.

12.5% ABV

Appellation Savigny-les-Beune Controllee

This is a blend of 5 parcels between 30 and 60 years old.

This is lovely now whilst still on its primary fruit and then will cellar well for several years.

13% ABV

Appellation Coteaux du Languedoc Controllee

Deep spicy concentration. A lot of power and dark chocolate, deep berry flavours. Maybe not as wood influenced as some of the Pic St Loup available, but maybe better for it?

13% ABV

Vin de Pays des Coteaux du Libron

A lovely Minerality. Grenache can be quite a feminine grape and very expressive. It doesn’t have the full spice power of Syrah but has the rusticity and softer more sweet red fruits and then, notes of rosemary and thyme. The finish is long supple and silky.

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12% ABV

Appellation Anjou Controllee

A deep, freshly crushed fruit character to this wine. This is from the domaine's best Cabernet Franc vines. It has all the rich tannic nature you would expect but Marc and Julien have achieved a wonderful balance between this and soft elegant fruit. Serious stuff yet very approachable.

13.5%

Appellation Coteaux du Languedoc Controllee

Named after Sympathy for the Devil by the Rolling Stones but also refers to the large stones in the vineyard that gather the heat during the day and reflect back up at the vine. Irene plays the Stones to her wines as they are fermenting. The wines taste as happy and full of personality as she is and this year she won AOC Pic St Loup for her wines which is such great news.

 12.5% ABV

Appellation Bourgueil Controllee

Long lean dry, lots of fruit very mineral. Nuits d’Ivresse means nights of drunkenness/excess but good ones with friends, a night to remember. Only a small amount of this is made and it is fabulously inky and very dry, mouthfuls of ripe black currents and bay leaves, aniseed.

 13.5% ABV

Appellation Coteaux d'aix-en-Provence Controllee

 13.5% ABV

Appellation Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence Controllee

14.5% ABV

Vin de Bonne table de France

Saint Nicolas Bourgueil

All the intensity and depth of Cabernet Franc and with a beautiful elegance.

No God or Master-It’s the respect of his ancestors techniques and not the modern techniques that society wishes to impose on us that he has and this wine is about.

14% ABV

Appellation Bandol Controllee

Elisabeth’s Bandol is one of the most thoughtfully made, elegant and perfumed I have ever tried and it is a real pleasure.

Bandol can so often be big, boisterous and very alcoholic but this has great power but it is softly spoken.

13.5% ABV

Appellation Coteaux du Languedoc Controllee

Soft woody notes on the nose and a lovely herbacious, concentrated fruit behind. Dark mocha on the palate and a soft, silky feel with crisp chunky tannins. A very well made wine.

13% ABV

Appellation St Joseph Controllee

12.7% ABV

Appellation Moulin a Vent Controllee

There are 9 villages in Beaujolais and if Fleurie was the Queen, being the most feminine, Moulin a Vent would be the King.

It is Gamay, but not really one to chill in the summer. It is structured, firm and with good fruit. Champs de Coeur is Richards top wine and is named after the terroir the vines are in. It is incredibly complex and yet crisp too.

 14.5% ABV

Appellation Cote de Rousillon Controllee

 13.5% ABV

Appellation Cote de Rousillion Controllee

15% ABV

Appellation Pic St Loup Controllee

Brilliant dark ruby colour with deep and elegant nose combining fruit, liquorice and spices. It is a wonderful wine with a good concentration of soft and round tannins and is very expressive, with a strong character and velvety texture. Jean Benoit is one of the kindest winemakers I have met and has been the president of the syndicat of the Coteaux du Langudoc for the last 4 years.

The horse on the labels relates to Jean-Benoits surname, a cavalier is a horseman coming from latin.

11% ABV

Vin de France

The Grolleau seems to bring out the best in the Gamay here. Oodles of summery, fresh berries and just the right balance of acidity to fruit. The Grolleau also gives an almost chewy texture that steers the wine away from what can sometimes be Gamay's over acidic nature. Add a good twist of Natural Loire funk into the mix and you have one of the most fashionable wines this year (much to the winemakers' surprise). 

Served chilled in the summer and enjoyed on its own or with small plates of simple light fare (cold meats, grilled sardines) it is the perfect way to while away a couple of hours...

13% ABV

Appellation Meursault Controllee

Fergus' red of choice when dining at HQ. This is delightful Pinot Noir and not often seen. Pinot Noir accounts for 4000 cases a year from the appelation which, are split between Meursault Rouge, Blagny (see 1er Cru below) and Volnay.

This example is fleshy, soft and with a pretty perfume. 

12.5%  ABV

Vin de Pays de Franche Comte

It is very important to compare this wine to many pinot noirs from the neighbouring region of Burgundy. At this price point it is nearly impossible to find an equivilent wine with such class and depth of flavours. This vintage is just beginning to show some of those really interesting aged notes that makes Pinot so special - whilst the fruit remains pure and elegant.

It may say Vin de Pays on the label - but don't let that fool you.

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14.5% ABV

 13.5% ABV

Vin de Pays des Cotes Catalanes Controllee

 13% ABV

Appellation Pommard Controllee

 12% ABV

Appellation Cornas Controllee

Culture Biodynamique

Brise Cailloux means literally « broken rocks ». it refers to the granitic soil of Cornas which is made of very old, eroded and degraded Granit, that you can break in your hands into sand. It is also Matthieu’s nick name from his wife, corresponding to a polite way to say… balls breaker!

14% ABV

Appellation Cotes de Provence Controllee

Big concentrated ripe fruit dry tannins, great length and power but not flashy.

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14% ABV

Appellation Cote de Provence Controllee

Raimondo as he likes to be called is one of our wine makers with THE biggest personality and passion for what he does. His wines follow in this pursuit, he makes wines that sing the Provencal soil they are grown on and sell out every year. Lots of blackcurrants and Violets, Smokey chocolate with fine dry dusty tannins. Freshness of fruit still very much present, Inky almost with great length

13% ABV

Appellation Crozes Hermitage Controllee

 13% ABV

Appellation Chinon Controllee

 13% ABV

Appellation Cote Rotie Controllee

13.5% ABV

Appellation Coteaux d’Aix en Provence Controllee

Peter Fischer vinifies his wines in giant Concrete Eggs. In the structure of an egg the molecules do not stop moving, this allows the wine to breathe during fermentation without the use of oak. It improves the evolution of the wine and at the end of the process there is no sediment. This is almost a Bordeaux of Provence, a Big Wine as the name suggests. The fruit is ripe and juicy but the underlying backbone and structure lend it elegance. With Provencal personality on the finish.

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14% ABV

Appellation Chateauneuf du Pape Controllee

This is very round and supple with lots of mure fruits and spice on the finish. It’s a big wine but carefully done and from a great vintage. Leather and tobacco with plums and coffee chocolate. Needs food!

 13% ABV

Appellation Blagny Premier Cru Controllee

A soft, fleshy, sweet red fruit nose. A very light red in colour but the concentration in the mouth is fantastic. There are gentle floral, almost violets in amongst some of the young fruit and with some slight twiggy tannins through the middle and a hint of liquorice behind this wine seems to travel the whole spectrum of Pinot notes. The finish has more power and shows a good use of secondary oak.

 13% ABV

Appellation Chambolle-Musigny Controllee

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 13.8% ABV

Appellation Cote du Roussillion Controllee

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12% ABV

Appellation Bourgueil Controllee

This is great old Bourgeuil from Catherine and Pierres cellar, he releases a small amount each year of a back vintage that he believes are tasting fabulous now.

In his words:

"1990 was a exeptionnel vintage perhaps the best with 1989 still 1976. the weather was clean hot all the year. Specially we have rain during winter and a hot spring the harvest was early 16 of September. Very good year the vintage never was closed with tiny fruit. Today he still tasting well with lot of arome".

 13.5% ABV

Appellation Vougeot 1er Cru Controllee

12.5% ABV

Appellation Cote Rotie Controllee

The name of this cuvée comes from the fact that these vines are very old, very first planted in 1896, in one of the slopes of Côte Rôtie.

13% ABV

Appellation Cornas Controllee

Billes Noires means black marbles. The vines of Billes Noires are situated at the top of the slope in a very windy area, fairly cold also compared to a few meters below. The grapes are permanently whipped by the leaves and they reach a time when they have a specific shine, generally the sign to pick, that Matthieu describes as black marble.

13% ABV

Appellation Cornas Controllee

Gore is the local name of the eroded Granit ! This is a wine coming from from the Billes Noires area, top of the hill, facing full north. It is generally a plot which is difficult to get to full maturity, due to the north facing and the extra cold weather that it gets from the Mistral and the lack of sun compared to the other orientations.

Yet, on great and very high maturity vintages as 2007 and 2009, this cuvee reaches ideal ripeness and merit to be isolated.

15% ABV

Appellation Cote de Roussillion Villages Controllee

For "La Petite Sibérie", the area’s name (one hectare) is "la Sibérie". The first owners called it like this because of the climate (wind, temperature, etc...) very particular for the region. So we kept the name by adding "little".