Hervé Sabardeil, our winemaker with limitless talent, has been making Cabalié, the big, ripe Catalan red, for over 15 years. He added the old-vine (Vieilles Vignes) edition in 2011, originally as a one off, but it was so popular we insisted he did it again. And again! The magic to this punchy red is really in the vines. At 60 to 100-years-old, yields are minute (about half of a Grand Cru claret). As a rule of thumb, the smaller the yield, the more concentrated the fruit, the more flavoursome the wine!
That’s why we call it Cabalié’s Big Brother. Still made in the same style that was beloved by the Roman centurions and now our customers too, it packs even more flavour than the original. Ideal with garlic-roasted lamb, rich stews or cheese.
This irresistible black beauty is made from fabulously intense Shiraz and Grenache grapes grown on the craggy hillsides of France’s deep south – the Languedoc-Roussillon. Look up from the vines and you will see ruins of castles perching precariously on rocky peaks. This inhospitable landscape and these ancient strongholds were home to medieval Cathars who lived in awe of the evil god Rex Mundi (‘King of the World’).
He corrupted the faithful with promises of earthly pleasures and the forbidden delights of mortal flesh. But behind the wine is a very kind soul - Hervé Sabardeil, our ‘King of the Black Reds’. Don’t even try to resist the temptation of this red, just sip and enjoy its marriage of liquorice-scented Shiraz and luscious Grenache.
