MEET THE PRODUCER TASTING Jean Francois Dieu – Domaine de Traginer – Banyuls (Settle’s Twin Town!)
Friday 29th November 7PM – AT THE SHOP
A fantastic opportunity to meet one of our favourites, Jean Francois Dieu and his partner Isabelle will be with us for a fantastic tasting evening where we will open some of his incredibly profound and delicious Banyuls wines, both dry under the Collioure Appellation, and amazing sweet, fortified wines under the Banyuls appellation. By the way, in case you didn't know, Banyuls is Settle's twin town! We will of course be serving cheeses and charcuterie from the Courtyard Dairy and superb artisan bread from the Ambry, the brand new bakery we have on site. we will be discussing wine, biodynamics, Banyuls, lack of rain, restaurants, (hopefully not politics or Trump!) and much, much more!! Jean Francois is a legend and has fascinating and honest insites after a livetime making biodynamic wines in one of the tougest appellations in France. It promises to be quite a night. Banyuls is rich full bodied and strong stuff so make sure you have nothing on early Saturday morning.....
THE INCREDIBLE LINE UP
Collioure Blanc 2019
Collioure Blanc Les Elms 2023
Collioure Rouge Caractere 2021
Collioure Garnatxa 2019
Banyuls Blanc 2023
Banyuls Rimage 2023
Banyuls Ambre NV
Banyuls Grand Cru 2017
We are delighted to be able to show these very special wines to a select group of customers at an exceptional price, there are only 14 places available for the tasting, so please book early…..
£35 per person
(for those of you who sadly can’t make the tasting, see the full range from Domaine de Traginer HERE)
The back story...
The Domaine du Traginer is a 16 hectare estate which lies across the steep schist upper slopes of Banyuls sur Mer, where the Pyrenees meets the Mediterranean Sea. It benefits from a very sunny exposure and has been farmed using biodynamic methods since 1997, though Jean-François Deu, the current owner started experimenting some 10 years earlier.
The vineyards have a very low yield and getting even lower with the lack of rain over the last few years which can be attributed to climate change. Jean Francois says, ' ca fait pleurer', it makes you cry, when talking about how the local area and his vines are suffering after years of drought.
The history of the area and the Traginer farm goes back a long way and Jean Francois aims to follow the ancestral traditions in their purest form. Accordingly, part of the vineyard is still ploughed with the help of a mule, guided by his 'Tragineur', the Catalan term for a muleteer. This is after all old Catalonia, being just 4 km from the Spanish border. Anicet, Jean-François's uncle, was the last 'Tragineur' in Banyuls, as well as the most famous. At Domaine du Traginer, they never use selected yeasts and enzymes or any other manipulations or modern wine making techniques. Here it is all about the land and letting nature take its course. Some wines are produced without sulphites depending on the year and the stability of the must.
Banyuls and its near neighbour Collioure are ancient appellations and the wines have a beautiful rustic, authenticity to them. They are full bodied, high in alcohol, and have the capacity to age almost indefinitely, in fact at Traginer, they still have wines in barrels that are over 50 years old and still 'just not quite ready!' With the wines of Traginer - which many consider to be the best in the region - there is an added freshness and acidity which comes from the old vines and natural production.
Great wine very often reflects the personality of the producer and that is certainly the case here. Like his wines Jean Francois is rustic, noble, honest and full of personality. He is a farmer first and foremost and talks about his job and his wines with honesty, sincerity and charm.
These are truly beautiful wines, perfect for the winter time, hearty meals and absolutely perfect for Christmas!
