Le Soula Rouge VDP Côtes Catalanes 2013

“Le Soula is one of the south of France’s most exciting wineries” says wineanorak.com. It was inspired by a local winemaker’s chance find of abandoned vineyards in the Agly Valley in the foothills of the Pyrenees. The soil here is granitic and poor, the climate is hard and extreme – yet from such a harsh environment comes a wine that’s incredibly rich, characterful and welcoming. Le Soula is a real labour of love, with ancient plots of vines scattered over a 15km range – 350-600m above sea level. It takes at least half a day to visit all the vineyards The wine is made from biodynamically-grown Carignan, Grenache and Syrah – a combination that makes for a complex, herby, heady red wine Hot daytime temperatures and cool nights help to give the wine a perfect balance of ripeness and freshness . Fresh, pure and very expressive with lovely black cherry and soft berry fruit. Spicy warmth, complex mineral notes and real precision and intensity. Showing a little age but still great scope for further development.