£81.50
Named after the man who planted the vines by hand - a Syrah-led La Clape red wine with twelve months of French oak behind it.
Dark, spicy fruit with an earthy crunch to it, and garrigue herbs sitting just behind - bay leaf, blackcurrant, a line of vanilla from the barrel. Deep colour with garnet at the rim. The palate is generous and bold, the tannins are silky, and the finish stays fresh right to the end. There is a lot going on here. Twelve months in oak, 30% of it new, gives extra complexity. Give it half an hour open and it becomes even more expressive.
Top food pairings:
"Le Planteur is Olivier's father, Claude. Olivier watched him as a boy planting this hillside by hand into hardened rock, looking down the valley to the sea. He made the wine as a thank you. It's ripe and generous and highly recommended."
Sarrat de Goundy work a 150 square-kilometre block of Cretaceous limestone so permeable it holds no surface water at all. La Clape has been a standalone AOC only since 2015, though there is evidence of vines on this rock from the 6th century BC. Around 400 sheep graze between the rows over winter. Olivier Calix is the third generation of winemakers o this site. He spent eight years in Barcelona and Bilbao studying art history and working with living artists before coming home in 2003, and he says that time still helps him appreciate the freedom and the pleasure of making his own wine. He runs the estate now with his mother Rosy.
If you drink Rioja Reserva or a big Puglian red, this La Clape red wine is the French is well worth a try — same warmth, same spice, and a story worth repeating over the second glass.
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