If you had the chance to uproot your busy life and escape the mundanity, would you take it? That’s exactly what Pierre-Nicolas Massotte did eighteen years ago when he relocated to the Roussillon. While you may recognize the region as the suffix to the Languedoc, the area is actually more closely related to Cataluñya. Its citizens are Catalan not French or Occitan, with a history rich in Spanish influence, having been ruled first from Mallorca and then from Aragón between the thirteenth and seventeenth centuries. And at first sip, many wines of this region tend to resemble their northern Spanish counterparts more than its French neighbors, think Spanish Corbières.

The arid climate, harsh winds, and relentless sunshine are advantageous features of the area as vines tend to thrive under these conditions. There is an inherent wildness to be seen in the wines from this region, which makes Pierre-Nicolas Massotte all the more impressive.

Clos Massotte is a small 8 ha winery situated against the Pyrenees, the Mont Canigou and very close to the Spanish border. In 2004, Pierre-Nicolas decides to make a change. He left the stress of everyday life to return to nature and its winegrowing roots. He took over 8 hectares of plots within the 40 hectares of his family property and began converting to natural farming and making wine from 60-year-old vines. He cultivated Grenache Blanc, Grenache Gris, Macabeu, Muscat d’Alexandrie, Muscat Petit Grain, as well as Syrah, Grenache Noir, Cinsault, Carignan, and Mourvèdre. Pierre-Nicolas learned how to bring freshness, minerality, and originality without oenological inputs. He describes it as having been an unintended journey of personal discovery.

*“The alchemy which leads to the divine nectar then to the bottle encourages me to be humble and simple in all my operations” Pierre-Nicolas Massotte*

Clos Massotte, Originie

**Grape**: 100% Muscat
**Vineyard** **size**: 1.5 ha
**Average Age of Vines** : 50 years old
**Winemaking**: 2 week maceration in stainless steel tanks followed by a long 2 month fermentation
**Bottles produced** : 1500
This wine is an explosion of flowers with a subtle funky finish. It offers a basket of fresh apricots and white nectarines. And while it is fruity, it is incredibly dry, which makes it ideal for food. It’s springtime in a bottle and an excellent example of Muscat de Petit Grains.

$29.99

Clos Massotte, Savate Sauvage

**Grape :** 100% Mourvèdre
**Vineyard size :** 0.8ha
**Average Age of Vines :** 30 years
**Winemaking :** 2 week maceration in fiberglass tanks
**Bottles produced :** 2000
On the nose, just a little funk that quickly blows off. This wine is truly wild. Once it opens up it has brilliant acidity and perfectly balanced tannins. This is savory, rugged Mourvèdre that deserves your attention.

$24.99

Aurélien Petit started making wine in 2012 with two small parcels of vines just outside Montpeyroux. One parcel of 2.5 hectares is planted with vines between 20 and 50 years old. This parcel of Syrah, Carignan and Chenin Blanc was abandoned when he started the domaine. The second parcel of 2 hectares is a mix of soil types and vines – red clay, yellow clay and pebbly limestone plated with Mourvèdre, Grenache, and Carignan.

Aurélien's wines encapsulate the climate and terroir of the Hérault. Organic farming, manual work in the vines & cellar, respect of the soils, vines & fruit, minimal intervention. His wines are unfiltered & unfined and sulfur is added only when necessary and kept to a strict minimum if the wines need to be stabilized.

His wines are a portrait of Herault and they reflect a real sense of place. They are sophisticated, but without pretense. They are approachable, but behind every sip is an invitation to think a little bit more as the wine opens up and reveals new layers of flavor.

**Le Petit Domaine, Démesure**

**Grape**: Chenin Blanc
**Vineyard Size**: 2.5 ha
**Average Age of Vines**: 40 years
**Winemaking**: 3 days maceration followed by 10 months of aging, both in neutral oak barrels
**Bottles Produced:** Only 1000 bottles made, *only 120 available in the US!*
This wine is subtle yet savory with notes of white button mushroom. It deserves poached fishes, a tower of shellfish, or the best gooey French cheese you can find. It’s so cheeky and fun. M. Petit knows exactly what he’s doing.

$34.99

Le Petit Domaine, Les Taches

**Grapes** : 70% Syrah / 30% Carignan
**Bottles produced** : 2,700 bottles
**Winemaking**: The Syrah undergoes one part in carbonic maceration for 15 days, one part destemmed followed by traditional maceration for 10 days . The Carignan is destemmed and is then traditionally macerated for 15 days. It the ages for 10 months in neutral oak barrels.
This is a serious wine not to be overlooked. It starts off generous and smooth, slowly becoming drier as you swallow. On the nose it gives off notes of cherry candy but its sturdy, ascending tannins and weighty mid-palate call out for steak au poivre or a nice brisket.

$42.99

Sylvain Bock produces exciting white and red wines in the mountainous Ardeche region of southern France. His vineyards are in a particularly scenic part of the Ardeche near the pretty town of Valvignères. He bought this land in 2013. There are two main sites – the old Mazel site between Alba la Romaine and Valvignères and a site further up in the volcanic area near the town of Sceautres where he grows Grenache and Gamay. The limestone is from ancient seas and the basalt from the volcanic activity that was prevalent in past eras here.

Sylvain recently built his new cellar in Alba-la-Romaine, having outgrown the small space in Valvignères he used to occupy. The space is a reflection of the man himself, careful and considerate, rather than simply wishing to make more wine - with more space and more tanks and barrels at his disposal, Sylvain isn’t rushed into bottling wines he doesn’t believe are ready.