Châteauneuf du Pape 2022

Jean Michel has many years of experience in the Côte Rôtie and Condrieu appellations, the hotspots of the Rhône. He owns 4 hectares of biodynamic vineyards and is a strong proponent of what the French call 'vins naturel'; natural wines where as little intervention as possible is made in the natural processes. This means no use of insecticides or artificial fertilisers, but rather allowing the vineyard to develop its own yeasts, making the grapes so healthy that no sulphur needs to be added to preserve the wine. Here, Viognier for white and Syrah for red are the predominant grape varieties. The wines are quite exuberant in style, very limited in oak use, and primarily have a dominant, complex fruit flavour. Yields are around 20 hectolitres per hectare, very low, which makes the wines vibrant, characteristic, and very pure. They are precious treasures.