2018 La Vignereuse Croizade AOC Gaillac

Region: Gaillac < France

Grapes: Syrah, Duras

Winemaker: Marine Leys

Before starting the Vignereuse, Marine Leys worked in film production,
living in Canada, Ireland and eventually, Turkey. It was there that
Marine found herself helping her employer plant a vineyard. She worked
in the cellar and eventually took over the winemaking after studying
in Beaune.  Deciding wine was more fun than film, Marine headed back
to France in 2012, settling in Gaillac to work with, and learn from,
her friends, the legendary Plageoles family.  Sufficiently tutored,
she found 5 hectares of vines in Andillac and the Vignereuse project
was launched in 2014. Gaillac, in the Southwest, might be one of the
most underrated AOPs in France.  It definitely has some of the oldest
vineyards, established in Roman times, with great soil and terroir.
But the region has always been underestimated - no brand recognition,
as in Burgundy or the Loire -- meaning that land prices are lower, and
more innovation and experimentation can move in. So it makes sense
that Gaillac is a hotbed for natural wine, with about 20 natty
winemakers based here.

Marine makes her wine under the new Vin Nature appellation being
tested in France, a classification requiring that grapes must come
from certified organic vines, be hand-picked and produced using
indigenous yeast. It also bans manipulations like thermovinification,
reverse osmosis, flash pasteurisation and cross-flow filtration, and
caps added So2 at 30ppm.  We love all of this structure around natural
wine - if only the world would adopt it!  And we love Marine's
Croizade, a dark-fruited, structured red with power and elegance.
Totally a food wine, this big boy would be perfect for any grilled
meat you throw at it.