Deep but youthful ruby. Scent of cooked cherries. Intense red cherry character, spicy and vibrant. Silky and slightly wild, this is delightfully aromatic, with bittersweet and tobacco nuances on the finish. Now-2012

Product Code: NAV207

Thierry Navarre is one of only a handful of independent winemakers in Roquebrun, a pretty town with a delightful Nice-like micro-climate, lying up against the massif - as pictured here. Thierry, impish grin on his face as usual, was rightly proud of his 2007s: we thought they were the best wines we have yet tasted from him.

Le Laouzil (= schist, translated from the Occitan) comes from a rocky vineyard on a windswept plateau above the town and is blended from about 40% Grenache with 30% of each of Carignan and Syrah. This lies in huge old oak vats before bottling but is effectively unwooded, allowing the purity of the fruit to shine. This always keeps very well, developing savoury secondary flavours. L’Olivier, from tiny - 20 hl/ha - yields is from equal thirds of the same grapes, and is aged in 600 litre demi-muids, but is also immediately ready to drink.