Château Vieux Moulin Natura Soli 2021

Château Vieux Moulin is a 200-year-old estate located in the Languedoc appellation of Corbières. This is the largest appellation the Languedoc with a range of terroirs, and a climate that benefits from the warmth of the Mediterranean, tempered by the cool Atlantic “Cers” wind. The main grape variety here is Carignan, which can sometimes be quite rustic, but comes into its own when cropped from low-yielding old vines, producing wines of richness, spice and concentration.

After he finished military service nearly 20 years ago, Alexandre They came to help out at the family wine estate. Soon afterwards he was given the opportunity to take over the estate despite having very limited experience of winemaking, but the choice was either take on the responsibility, or sell. Alex dove in headfirst and learned on the job, making him the 7th generation of his family the run the domaine.

Vieux Moulin was being farmed largely along organic lines, but now all 28 hectares are fully certified. Alex is unafraid to challenge the status quo and explore new angles of winemaking, but never at the expense of what’s in the glass, and the wines always represent their origins in the vineyard. The range includes both conventionally made wines and some very on-trend natural releases. The wines are made with natural yeasts and at most low levels of SO2, but in some cases no additions at all. All the wines are strikingly packaged, and the zero sulphur wines are clean and very technically and precisely made – just delicious wines which happen to be natural.

Château Vieux Moulin Natura Soli is made of grapes from an ancient organic Carignan vineyard on the plain of Corbières. The grapes undergo a 7 day pre-fermentation cold soak, then after a natural ferment they continue to macerate for a further 10 days to fix the extraction. No SO2 is added at any point and the wine is bottled unfiltered.

Deep garnet, on the edge between fresh fruits and fruit compote. Loaded with juicy, perfumed dark forest fruits with a lush, round palate, ripe tannins, and a long spicy finish.