Domaine des Pensées Sauvages

Domaine des Pensées Sauvages is the mid-life creation of Nick Bradford, an ex-anthropologist form Aberdeen, and his wife Clare, a potter. The estate has grown to 10 hectares of hillside vineyards surrounded by rocks and scrub of juniper, holm oak and rosemary. Just over half is planted to Syrah and Grenache with the remainder being panted with Carignan and Cinsault. They describe themselves a "Artisan Vignerons", looking after every aspect of production themselves. The high altitude (350m above sea level) and poor soil brings them small crops of late-ripening fruit.

A hands off approach to winemaking is practised here. No adjustments to acidity, no manipulations of sugar levels or malolactic fermentation are countenanced in their cellars and apart from minimum levels of anti-oxygents, no additives are used, either at the vinification or the bottling stage.

The wines are deeply coloured and firmly structured. In their early days they are marked with a spicy (pepper, cinnamon) and herbal 'garrigue' nose, and by flavours of black fruit (cherry and blackcurrant). Later they take on notes of musk, smoked meat and dried fruits.