Domaine Gardies 'Les Millères' Rouge 2014

Not one, not two, not... actually we'll just tell you: no less than seven generations of the Gardies family have made wine in the village of Vingrau in Rousillon. But current owner Jean Gardiés is showing no signs of crumbling under the pressure; he's positively blooming, as are his vines (smooth, we know), whose small yields produce critically acclaimed wines like this intense, bright garnet-red, softly spicy beauty.

The village of Vingrau, at the foothills of the Pyrenees in the Roussillon area, is the original land of the family Gardiés, who have been growing vines here for seven generations. Their philosophy is to live ‘in harmony with raw and wild nature, understanding… the land’. They produce wines of great finesse, which truly express the terroir. Jean Gardiés took over the running of the winery from his father in the 90s to create his own wines.

Swept by the Mediterranean winds, the 35 hectare vineyard is converted to organic production and mixes itself well with the surrounding scrubland. It has two terroirs – black schists (from Espira Agly) and clay-limestone (from Vingrau), which both lend their signatures to the wines of Domaine Gardiés.

Due to the climate and soils (vingrau and black shistous), yields are quite low at, on average, 30hl/ha. Grapes are harvested manually at perfect maturity, leading to complex, rich and elegant wines which reflect their terroirs.

The wine is matured for 12 months in 50% in oak barrels and 50% in concrete tanks.

With an intense, bright garnet-red robe and scents of black fruits and soft spices, the mouth reveals itself to be well balanced, with a luxurious texture and discrete flavours of spices in a liquorish final.