Rat du Paquerettes Duras Causse Marines 2017

Rat du Paquerettes Duras Causse Marines, biodynamic wine, 100% Duras, local variety to the Gaillac and Southwest France, fresh, lively, yet structured wine. An attack of acid and tannins is balanced with round fruits, the hallmark of Causses Marines. What a fabulous winery this is, perhaps from a region which doesn’t get the notoriety is deserves. Many of the wines are rustic, bigger wineries favour fruit bombs for international markets, but at Causses Marines, there is nothing but nature oozing in every drop of wine they produce. The Rat du Paquerettes or ‘The Daisy’s Rat’ (need to find out where that name came from!) wine is slightly earthy, beautifully balanced, light and full at the same time, ace from the fridge when warm or great with meat in winter, try it.

Situated in Gaillac, Domaine Causse Marines is a 15 hectares wine estate managed by Patrice Lescarret and Virginie Maignien, both winemakers.

Patrice studied oenology in Bordeaux and then worked in Sancerre and Provence. After a few years of working conventionally for others, he made the big leap and created his own estate in 1993 by buying 8 hectares of vineyards from a retiring farmer. Virginie was a student of the ESSEC business school who quit everything to enrol in a wine school in Beaune and having met Patrice whilst on a brief training stint at his vineyard never left his side again. The vineyards at Causses Marines are made of very old vines dating back to world war two. Pascal and Virginie mainly grow indigenous grape varieties such as Mauzac, Loin de L'Oeil, Ondenc and Braucol but also have plantings of Syrah. Soils are calcareous limestone on a rocky plateau. The vineyard is Demeter certified biodynamic and their philosophy is simple, look after the land and let the wines make themselves.