2015 Chateau de Caux & Sauzens Carthagene

This is a quirky wine from the south of France. My wife and our best friends were on a ‘floating caravan’ on the Canal du Midi, and I spied this little winery on the map within bike-riding distance. When we arrived in the village and knocked on the door of the house, we overheard the winemaker having an argument with his wife.

But things cheered up as he generously walked us through his winery, tasting from vats and barrels. Carthagene is a traditional wine of the Languedoc – winemakers fill a barrel with the sweet juice from fresh-crushed red or white grapes, then immediately stop fermentation with the addition of grape spirit. It was a sense of place and the story behind it that made this one of those great wine experiences.