Selected from the best parts of the vineyard, this is a blend of Syrah, Carignan and Mourvedre. Each varietal is kept apart and aged in 500 litre oak barrels for 12 months. Only then do they decide upon the final blend. Once made, the finished wine is aged for yet another 12 months in those same barrels before bottling. Only 10% of the barrels are new wood, so there's no-in-your-face oakiness here! Diane only releases this wine if she feels it is up to her highest standards of quality, which is not every year. A bit like a Vintage Port.

Diane and Mathieu’s estate borders the Languedoc and the southern Rhône (and also Provence) so some wines feel very Occitane, others very Rhône-y. For example her pure expression of Grenache (Castel Nou) is a homage to Chateauneuf du Pâpe, whilst ‘Les Cimels’ red has more of a Languedoc feel. ‘Les Cimels’ Rosé could be from Provence. Les Cimels Red was the very first wine we brought to the UK, and which inspired us to set up The Real Wine Company. The 2001 vintage. I have kept a bottle for posterity (long since empty of wine, of course). Diane had taken over a failing estate which was over-producing huge quantities of dilute, boring wines which were helping to fill the EU Wine Lake. Diane set about restoring these beautiful old vineyards to restrict the quantities and improve the quality in direct inverse proportion. First of all, they got the quality right, then they got on with conversion to organic and bio-dynamic status which all the wines now are. The château name comes from the family crest which is Gold and Red.