CHEESE & WINE EXPERIENCES, WINE FLIGHTS AND WINES BY THE GLASS IN WEST DIDSBURY

CHEESE & WINE EXPERIENCES, WINE FLIGHTS AND WINES BY THE GLASS IN WEST DIDSBURY

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Domaine Gayda, Figure Libre Freestyle Rouge 2024

Get to know: Domaine Gayda, Figure Libre Freestyle Rouge 2024

Four southern grapes off limestone at La Livinière, fermented with no added sulphur - a Languedoc red wine made to taste of fruit and nothing else.

Tasting Note

Wild berries and cherry juice, thick and generous, and then give it air and black pepper and garrigue come through underneath. Clear ruby with a purple edge - it looks young and it drinks fresh. The palate manages weight and movement at the same time: plenty of body, juicy the whole way, and a crisp bite to the palate that keeps it lively. The finish carries a faint roasted note that adds length without heaviness. If you like the Saisonniers, this is the same generosity turned up.

Top food pairings:

  • Roasted vegetables with rosemary and thyme
  • A charcuterie board
  • Grilled lamb chops
Kate Says

"We've wanted to bring in this wine for some time since working with Domaine Gayda. Expect big primary fruit in a medium body, but intense flavours along with smoked meats and chocolate, spice. No oak here; let the gorgeous fruit express itself."

Producer Info

Domaine Gayda farm around 40 to 50 hectares across four sites - the home estate on sandstone at Brugairolles, prized plots at La Livinière in the Minervois, and two Roussillon holdings in the Agly valley on gneiss. The fruit for this wine comes off the La Livinière limestone. Vincent Chansault has made the wine since the beginning and is now one of the most relied-on winemakers in the region, and refreshingly blunt about it: "I don't want to be told how to make wine." Certified organic since 2011.

Vincent fills the tanks by gravity and ferments this without adding any sulphur at all - the finished wine comes in at 47 milligrams a litre, well under the natural-wine ceiling, and it's neither cloudy nor faulty. 

How it's made:

  • Hand-picked, sorted by bunch and then by berry, and destemmed
  • Tanks filled by gravity; fermented in stainless steel with no added sulphur, 10 to 30 days depending on variety and plot
  • Nine months in older barrels on the lees, with stirring
  • Two months in vat, no fining, light filtration, bottled at the domaine

Good to know:

  • Region: IGP Pays d'Oc, Languedoc, France
  • Grape: Grenache Noir 45%, Syrah 25%, Mourvèdre 20%, Carignan 10%
  • Style: Red, still, medium- to full-bodied
  • Closure: Cork
  • Vegan: Yes
  • ABV: 13.5%
  • Vintage: 2024

Why we love it:

Low-intervention winemaking with none of the risk that usually comes with it. This Languedoc red wine is organic, unsulphured through fermentation and still completely clean - intensity and drinkability in the same glass.

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