Finding special wine takes a special skill. The South of France
is a treasure trove of rare finds but it takes a real Wine Detective to find them.
Often behind unmarked doors, down a narrow street, the real gems do not reveal themselves to the "civilian."
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The Call
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A call from a street corner to a number scribbled on a piece of paper can lead to an invitation to visit a private cellar.
Once inside the chilly stone room the proprietor of even the very smallest domaine is genuinely excited to share what they have created.
The photo above illustrates just such an example.The barrels you see hold the entire allotment of the estate.
The total production of this domaine is just 150 cases -
period.
We have just one case of the remarkable Chatauneuf du Pape
that we found at Domaine des Saumande. This is the real thing.
First come, first served. $50 per bottle.
You will not find this anywhere else. Period.
Vineyard owner, Henri Darnat, says that making great wines requires patience and "the courage to wait"; waiting for optimum ripeness to time the harvest as the September weather can be changeable, waiting on the wines as they ferment with their own natural rhythm barrel by barrel, waiting and tasting the wines so they are bottled at their optimum point of purity and liveliness. The pride of his work is that his wines are represented on the best restaurant lists of France and the world.
