Notre Terre - Orange Field Blend - Minervois, FR - 2022

A.Banger.
Concrete + Amphora production - a field blend of grancahe gris, terret gris, and probably some marsanne! Vines up to 104 years old - think roasted apple skins and lemon essence with so much texture and character - and expression of the region and its warm, fruit bearing hills! I love it.

///

Brunnhilde Claux was chosen by Rheinhard Brundig of Ch. Courbissac (her main gig)due to her excellent record working for Gérard Gauby, where she learnt the skills needed for growing vines naturally in a Mediterranean climate, and then with Dominik Huber for three vintages.

Yet Claux’s main drive has been to work the vineyards in order to achieve ripeness at the lowest possible Baume – her aim being to capture as much freshness as possible. This work, combined with Claux’s gentle winemaking–infusion rather than extraction–and the complete absence of new oak, has already produced a range of wine that are appreciably livelier, more seductive and fragrant than what we had come to expect of this excellent producer and the Minervois appellation in general.