Banyuls Grand Cru Traginer 2018

Banyuls Grand Cru Traginer 2018, natural wine, vin doux naturel, rich, expressive profound sweet wine with incredible intensity, layers of flavour and style.  The Grand Cru wine is made from the best selection of fruit from the best vines at the domaine.  In this case, 90% Grenache Noir and 10% Carignan Noir with an average age of about 50 years.  The harvest is meticulous, usually involving three separate passages through the vines to make the fruit is picked at its perfect phenolic ripeness.  All the bunches are ‘ egrappe’ meaning the stalks are removed before the pressing.  The fermentation takes place with natural yeasts and is ‘stunned’ with certified biodynamic grape spirit followed by a maceration of about one month.  No sulphites are added at any time during the fermentation process.  The wine is then aged for 6 years in barrels with a small amount of oxidative ageing to make it slightly ‘rancio’.  There is no fining or filtration, a tiny amount of sulphur is added at bottling.  This is Banyuls are its most profound, a wine which elicits a string emotional reaction when you drink it (aided by the 17% abv).

The flavours are very deep, dried fruits, nuts, spices, coffee, bitter and sweet chocolate, it has it all.  Although Banyuls is considered a Port alternative for Cheeses and strong desserts, these wines are so delicious, they work in a vast array of situations and with all manner of foods.  Try chilled as an apero when warm outside with some small pieces of Roquefort style cheese, some black olives, some Pate on crusty bread, but also try with main courses like Civets with Game or Beef.  This wine is also superb with anything chocolate.  Or simply, open the bottle and savour small glasses on their own whilst reading your favourite book.

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 from 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 when made in the way 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 full of personality, rustic, noble and honest.  He is a farmer first and foremost and talks about his job and his wines with 100% honesty, sincerity and charm. 

These are truly beautiful wines, perfect for the winter time, hearty meals and absolutely perfect for Christmas!