2018 Domaine of the Bee, Domaine of the Bee

Domaine of the Bee is a small project created by UK-based Master of Wine Justin Howard-Sneyd and his wife Amanda.  The vineyards are located deep in Cathar country in southern France in a glorious wind-swept valley that leads from Perpignan to the Pyrenees.   They have three plots of ancient vines close to the village of Maury, which is overlooked by Queribus, one of the most spectacular of the Cathar castles whose vertiginous 800 year-old walls defy belief.  They now work closely with Jean-Marc Lafage, one of the Roussillon's leading winemakers.  The wine is made in Jean-Marc's cellar at St Roch, and the Domaine Lafage team look after the vines, and help bottle the wines.  They make a deeply coloured, full-bodied style of red wine, as well as, more recently, a white, a pink, and a lighter red.

Their flagship red is made from the best barrels of Grenache and Carignan. Hand-harvested, cold-macerated and matured for 18 months in a mix of 500L and 225L barrels (25% new oak).  This is a rich, full-bodied red showing ripe bramble fruit, roasted black plum and subtle vanilla spice from the oak.