La Combe Saint-Paul, Rolle IGP Pays d'Oc, France, 2022

Open, stone fruited gives way to a more gentle, pine-scented, well-textured mid-palate. Fruity but finishes dry. This is a fine all-rounder

Paul and Line Maury might be the youngest producers but winemaking runs in the genes.

Paul’s grandparents and great grandparents were winemakers specialising in single varietal wines, and we list his fine examples of Vermentino, Chardonnay and Viognier.

In 2008 Paul came across the opportunity to buy vines on La Clape and create his own domaine. His vineyard near the sea is surrounded by pine and oak trees and the soil is characterised by grés rouge (red sandstone).

La Clape (a "heap of pebbles" in the old Occitan language of the south) was a mountain surrounded by the sea (east of Narbonne) when the Romans first spotted its potential and planted it with vines.

Sediments from the river Aude attached it to the mainland in the 14th Century. Maximum ripeness is ensured by 300 days of sunshine per year, making it is one of the sunniest spots in France but it is also amongst the windiest with a particularly violent Tramontane from the plateau to the north.

Country: France 

Region: Pays D'Oc 

Vintage: 2022

Grape Variety: Vermentino

ABV: 12.5%

Size: 750ml 

Producer: La Combe Saint-Paul