The name of this cuvée refers to the winemaking technique which differs by using the vertical press: a type of press used from the middle ages until the 1960’s, when it was replaced by the horizontal press (mechanical and pneumatic). The vertical press marks the style of this wine, with bags of concentration and complexity. It comes from the “Montagne de Cras” plot in Nantoux. “Cras”, or “Crag” in Celtic, means pebbles and the soil is very varied, stony but also full of clay. The 4-hectare plot is made up of 3 hectares of vines and 1 hectare of a natural biodiversity area: scree slopes, hedges, orchards, limestone grasslands with numerous orchids and rare trees. A precise, intense nose of orange rind, honey, and white blossom, is followed by a taut, poised and dynamic palate with well-integrated oak. It is showing a touch of spice amongst the fresh, tropical fruit and is very persistent on the finish. Excellent.

New to our range for 2023, this comes from 2 parcels at the top of the hill near En Bignon, lying at 421 metres above sea-level. It is fermented in 500 and 600-litre barrels, and has a pure and open nose showing hints of white peach and honeysuckle. The palate is expertly balanced, slickly textural and focussed all the way through the slightly, spicy, saline finish. Wow.

It’s fitting that Le Clos graduated to Premier Cru status in the 2020 vintage. It is a superb 2.7-hectare monopole vineyard of the domaine, sitting right outside the cellar door. It is home to many old vines, some of which were planted as far back as 1929. The youngest vines you’ll find here are from 1984. These east-facing vines grow on three different soils - clay at the bottom, marl in the middle and limestone at the top. It’s the most serious wine in the Château de Fuissé cellar, with complex layers resulting from the patchwork of soil types and vine diversity and oak ageing (85% new). 2023 is an extremely structured and complete wine. The nose spans white peaches, orange peel, honeysuckle, and vanilla. The palate is balanced, deep and focused. A zesty freshness with impressive persistence on the finish.

This is a powerful, muscular style of Hermitage - 100% whole cluster used this year. The dense structure here promises long-term ageing, full of dark cherry and bramble fruit, pepper, violets, licquorice root and anissed. There is a brooding, mineral core not far below the surface. This will be extremely impressive with time.

The 2023 Rocoules is an intense and vibrant white. Offering up notes of quince, white peach and citrus balm there is a hint of honeysuckle and savoury miso complexity. A sense of salinity runs through the wine and the finish is expansive and expressive on the palate.

A supple, fleshy style of Syrah with bramble fruit and black cherry laced with violets and liquorice. The palate is ripe with freshness and energy to the fruit which is well-defined offering a peppery lift to the finish.

A supple, expressive Hermitage delivering wild herbs, fresh cracked black pepper, violets and bright bramble fruit. There is freshness and energy here without too much weight or opulence. Tannins are sinewy and ripe and frame the wine in a stately way.

This wine is sourced from six small plots planted in the late 1970s and early 1980s. These are some of the oldest vineyards owned by Rafael Palacios, located in Santa Cruz do Bolo on the north side of the Bibei Valley. It is a wine that speaks so clearly of the rocky landscape on which it was grown. The nose has deftly integrated oak spice, wild herbs, ocean spray, with a muscularity and texture on the palate that demonstrates the potential longevity. So fluid and crystalline, the finish is vibrant and beckons you in for another sip.

This 0.24-hectare parcel of bush-vine Godello, planted in 1920, is the oldest and most distinctive vineyard owned by Rafael Palacios. In 2022, this has produced a musucular and textured white with real density and focus which belies some of the warmth of the vintage. It offers dried mountain herbs, white stone fruit, and real salinity that flows through on the finish.