Moulin de Gassac, Guilhem Rouge

A cracking French red full of the promise of southern sunshine... it is great value to boot and is oh-so-easy on the palate. But then again, it is made by one of the most celebrated and famous wineries in the whole of the South of France!

Full of red berry and blackberry flavours, this is a gorgeous mouthful of red that is subtly spiced with a smooth and soft palate, gently supporting tannins and a lush texture making it excellent on its own or with hearty dishes.

This wine is a label that takes its name from the local Saint Guilhem, an 8th-Century Benedictine Monk, this wine comes from a range of called Moulin de Gassac, a winery created in the 1990s by the visionary owner of Domaine Mas de Daumas Gassac, the leading quality wine estate in Languedoc. The invention of the winery has an interesting story: Moulin de Gassac was Aimé Guibert's a reaction to the EU’s vine-pulling scheme, which led to uprooting of hundreds of thousands of hectares of vines across the Languedoc, due to the extreme volumes of wine being produced at lower levels of quality. Partnering with local vignerons who had good quality sites, but lesser levels of winemaking know-how, these vines were saved under the protective umbrella of Gassac. In essence, no one knew where the EU would start and end with their well-intentioned, yet heavy-handed scheme, so under Guibert's banner, which none would argue as producing anything but outstanding wine, the farmers he chose were secure. 

The grape varieties for Guilhem Rouge are sourced from around the Étang de Thau basin, in the heart of the Languedoc. Classically set on hillside slopes for excellent exposure to sunshine as well as cooling sea breezes, altitude and drainage, grapes ripen slowly and evenly, leading to wines that possess freshness, balance, and varietal typicity.

Conventional winemaking suits these grapes perfectly, with a five-six month total of time from picking to bottling; they use stainless steel tanks in order to preserve the freshness. It really is a glass of classic hearty red that will transport you to the Côte d'Azure in no time at all...