Montirius

It was an old friend of one of our winemakers who first recommended Montirius, and how glad we are that we followed it up. Meeting Eric and Christine Saurel for the first time we were immediately impressed by the warmth of their welcome and the quality of their wine. Thanks in no small part to the regime of biodynamic viticulture the wines have a delicious and distinctive flavour - you can taste the terroir in every mouthful. Many visits and three years later (we never rush these things) they have produced for Partners exclusive cuvées of two of the Rhône's most famous wines: Gigondas and Vacqueyras.

Eric and Christine tend their vines following strict biodynamic principles, involving not only complete respect for the environment by the elimination of all chemical pesticides, but also a requirement to be 'in tune' with the solar calendar which influences the best time to perform all the various vineyard tasks. To farm in this way takes single-minded dedication, and the benefits do not appear overnight - Eric's father started the process in 1980 when he stopped using artificial fertilizer. The complete conversion of the domaine culminated with certification by ECOCERT in 1996 and the first vintage of truly biodynamic wine was produced in 1999.

Since then the results speak for themselves. In 2001 America's Wine Spectator magazine gave their 1999 Gigondas 94/100, making it 13th in the 'Top 100 Most Exciting Wines in the World'; in 2002 their Vacqueyras was awarded a Gold Medal at the Concours National des Vins Biologiques in Paris, France's premier biodynamic wine tasting event; in 2003 British Airways bought almost the entire production of Gigondas to serve in Business Class; and in 2004 their Vacqueyras was voted one of the '50 Best Value Wines in the World' by Decanter magazine.