CÔTES DU ROUSSILLON VILLAGES 2015 Dom Brial
A blend of old-vine Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre. Goes really well with venison.

"VERTU" Rosé  AOP Côtes de Provence 2024 Domaine de La Sanglière
Classic Provence rosé. Pale, dry, grape varieties: Cinsault 60%, Grenache 40%. Organic. Fresh and refreshing, appears light, but goes really well with food. 

"LE CROIZILLON" AC Cahors 2022 Ch. les Croisille
Fresh, lively, delicious Cahors - not heavy and black! Lovely winemaking. 

MINERVOIS 2022 Pierre Cros 
A change of style with this vintage: very pure, vivid fruit, with a touch of earthiness on the finish. Joanna Simon says of it, "unashamedly easy to drink and satisfying, yet full of character, true to its terroir and of indisputable quality." Monsieur Cros, ex-professional rugby player, describes himself as a "vigneron-militant" and rails against the pseud marketing rubbish put out about how vines were cultivated by monks in his area since time immemorial, blah-blah-blah. And he has no time for petty bureaucrats who won't let him plant grape varieties that he wants to plant, so he plants them anyway and gets fined by the authorities for doing so, and goes ahead and makes wine out of them. 

BEAUJOLAIS VILLAGES 2023 Domaine des Marrans
Mathieu Mélinand runs this estate based in Fleurie. He took over from his father a few years ago, and I have watched his winemaking improve in each succeeding vintage. 

"CALCAIRE" AC Cahors 2020 Ch. les Croisille
More serious than "Le Croizillon" above, this spends 18 months in oak barrels, and can be cellared for a few years yet, but is completely approachable now. This estate is up in the hills, not down in the valley, giving the wines a bouncy freshness due to the altitude.

FLEURIE 2022 Domaine des Marrans 
This estate is based in Fleurie, and this is their main wine. Copybook Fleurie - fresh, floral and bouncy.