Domaine of the Bee 2021

Our Flagship red is made from our best barrels of Grenache and Carignan, and this vintage (and the previous two) have been classified as Maury Sec (before 2019 we classified our wine as Cotes du Roussillon Villages, or Cotes Catalanes). The vineyards are the same three blocks we have owned since 2006, the grapes taste the same, but we have upped the Grenache component to 60%, which is the minimum permissable for Maury Sec.

An EXTREMELY cold January, with rare snow lying on the ground (briefly) marked the start of a year that was incredibly dry. Very low rainfall in a cool spring, and then a nice mini heatwave followed in June, but still very little rain. Two more heat spikes came in mid July and late August, followed by September rains which finally allowed the vines a little moisture, and helped to swell the thick-skinned grapes.

Black Schist, and Limestone clay

Most of the vineyards for our white and rosé wines were harvested before the rain, and most of our reds in a dry spell after the rainy spells. It was a good year for whites and pinks, and a GREAT year for reds.

All our grapes for Domaine of the Bee were hand harvested, and then hand-sorted at the winery to ensure we only chose the healthiest and ripest grapes. The first Carignan to be picked is fermented in a stainless steel tank. The rest of the Carignan, and all the Grenache is cold-macerated in upturned demi-muids (500 ltr barrels) with the ends taken out, before being warmed up, inoculated with yeast, and gently punched down 2-3 times a day.

After pressing, all of the wine was drained into a mixture of 500 ltr and 225 ltr barrels, approximately a quarter of which are new, and left to mature for 16 months.