Clos du Gravillas 2009 Sous les Cailloux des Grillons

The wine... This is a necessity, a fresh, juicy red to aid in the consumption of grilled foods through warm summer months. Seven grapes (Syrah 24%, Cabernet Sauvignon 24%, Carignan 24%, Mourvedre 7%, Terret 7%, Grenache 7%, Counoise 7%) grown together in a gravel field. Co-planting of grapes can be kinda magical, less precise maybe than blending separately farmed monocultures, but sometimes I taste field blends and feel the wine has a sort of live, emotional resonance lacking in more common "assembled" wines. Whatever, it works here, the wine is seamless and real and easy to drink to boot.

The history... The estate's story begins with Nicole. She came to plant Syrah, Cabernet ,and Mourvedre in the promising terroir of St. Jean de Minervois. Things got even more promising in 1999, when she began rehabilitating six acres of Carignan that was planted in 1911, and a small amount of Grenache Gris. Not surprisingly, wines made from these plantings are now the current stars of the estate's line-up. 

Success... Over the last decade Clos du Gravillas has slowly grown. Nicole is now aided in her endeavor by John Bojanowski and their child Sacha. John is from Kentucky, and is a basketball fan. We'll attempt to book the Bojanowski clan for a wine dinner some March.... Their farm now  sprawls across a massive 15 acres, and includes plantings of 13 different grapes. Keeping it human in scale has innumerable advantages for the consumer. Nicole and John work entirely organically. They vigorously prune their vines to keep yields low and flavors concentrated in the resulting wines. These vines get attention, they are tended in a way necessary to maintain health. It is the combination of healthy vines growing from healthy earth in a balanced ecosystem that brings forward the memorably alive and real flavors that make me crave these wines. They taste for real, authentic, a clear picture of true Minervois that needs no touch-ups.