2014 Rouge de Causse

Ever since she was little, Anne-Marie Lavaysse has had a dream of becoming a farmer and living in harmony with nature. In 1993 that dream started coming true, when she began restoring an abandoned and very old vineyard outside Saint-Jean-de-Minervois in Languedoc, which was named Le Petit Domain de Gimios.

The vineyards had been left to nature but had at the same time not been treated with chemicals either. Together with her son, Pierre, Anne has continued the natural approach and has even taken it a step further in a biodynamic direction. Instead of pesticides, boiled herbs that grow in the vineyards are used to protect the vines, just as cows help to keep unwanted weeds at bay while also contributing with fertilizer. The harvest is done by hand, and the yield is very low.

The white wines from Le Petit Domaine de Gimios are made from Muscat, while the reds consist of as many as 16 different local varieties with Carignan being the primary grape. Nothing is added to the wine at any point in the cellar, just as only natural yeast is used. Although this is southern French wine true to its origins, it is at the same time really bright, juicy and drinkable.