2022 Pedres Blanques
WINEMAKER: Rié & Hirofumi Shoji
REGION: Roussillon, FR
VARIETY: Grenache
VITICULTURE: Organic
This is mostly Grenache from head pruned bush vines vines of about 50 years of age planted over the granite and schist soils of the Collioure at around 300 metres above sea level. Like at Clos du Rouge Gorge the grapes were fermented as whole bunches in cuve for around a month then pressed and fed by gravity into old foudres. for 2022, again, Hiro has extended elevage to 18 months which has rendered a fabulous wine in every sense. It is a mountain wine - subtle and perfumed black fruit, flowers, graphite and minerals lead into a palate that is a lace and wonder, they have only made three vintages, this is a young estate but I feel this is the best so far.
"When anyone thinks about the southern French region of Roussillon it is probably not about what’s happening in Roussillon today, which is a revolutionary shift toward freshness, minerality and terroir, today it is home to some of France’s very best. Rié et Hirofumi Shoji are the exciting new talent in Collioure, the appellation in the Roussillon that shares boundaries with Banyuls but is for dry and not fortified wines.
I first met Hiro when he was working in Burgundy for Fred Cossard, one of the best winemakers anywhere in my opinion and certainly you could not do better for a mentor in the production of artisanal, naturally made wine. Hiro would often take me through the tasting when Fred was away and his sensitivity and curiosity was evident back then. When, after 5 years, he told me that he was leaving to pursue his dream I was happy for him and I knew that he would make brilliant wine.
Fast forward to 2018 and I met Hiro and Rié to taste their first wines at the Salon des Anonymes in Angers. They dropped a splash of each in my glass; purity, exuberance, depth and charm. I was hooked right in. Thankfully they agreed to sell me some wine, there was a long queue.. They are farming two parcels, one planted in 1989 and the other in 1965 - both on the regions granite/schiste soil. The wines are made almost entirely from Grenache Noir. Hand harvesting, whole bunches, spontaneous fermentations, no pumps and no filtration. These are wines that a full of character and when you add the talent of Hiro and Rié the result is elan and finesse; in short, wonderful wines." - Andrew Guard, importer