A thrilling, blackberry-soaked elixir of a wine

2017 Château Maris, Savoir Vieillir, Minervois, Languedoc, France

last updated 31 August 2018

Robert Eden, vintner and co-owner of Chateau Maris, has lived in France since 1994 after travelling in Australia, Italy, Burgundy, Spain and California, where he worked at a collection of stellar wineries. Since 1997, he has pioneered organic and biodynamic viticulture. As a result his property features a carbon-neutral, hemp-bricked winery that passively consumes carbon dioxide. Savoir Vieillir translates as “understanding how to age”.

My featured wine has no added sulphur (sans souffre ajouté) and is a red designed by Robert and his collaborator Benjamin Darnault. It is made from mainly syrah grapes with a touch of grenache and it comes from a south-facing vineyard, situated at 300m above sea level, called Les Panels. The soil is a mix of clay, limestone and sandstone, and this plot sits within the hallowed Minervois Cru La Livinière.

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I am not one for falling for trendy “bio” wines and most no- or low-sulphur bottles that appear on my tasting table look lacklustre and often faulty, but this wine is something else. Inky black in colour, with a velvety texture and sensational perfume, this is a thrilling, sooty, plum and blackberry-soaked elixir and it is staggeringly impressive. Only 7,200 bottles were made exclusively for Waitrose. Once customers taste this wine I am certain there will be a stampede to restock, so don’t delay.

2017 Château Maris, Savoir Vieillir, Minervois, Languedoc, France – £16.99, Waitrose.com.

Matthew Jukes is a winner of the International Wine & Spirit Competition’s Communicator of the Year (MatthewJukes.com).

This article was originally published in MoneyWeek