Par Femme: Gîtes Castelnaut

Par Femme - bringing delicious wine from a small wine producer in the Corbieres

These vines grow in a beautiful spot, 40 mins from where I live. The soil is limestone and full of stones and very dry. You look at the vines in the winter and you think that nothing can possibly grow there but now there is the beginning of a most bountiful growth which,given a year of no hail, gives the most luscious grapes.

Monsieur et Madame Martinolle make wine like their parents before them and like their parents before them... They don't use pesticides - so while they have not gone the route of filling in all the forms etc to certify their wine making as organic - it is. The vines are growing around a very pretty stone village called Gasparets, 11200 in the Aude, where they also have their cave to make it in. They make amongst other wines - a Corbieres red AOC which is 40% grenache, 20% carignan and 40% syrah. They have 25 hectares producing 30,000 litres a year which they sell in their wee shop in Lezignan down the road. They are elderly, but are still managing to make their delicious wine.

Par Femme is proposing to bring this red wine to you in a 5 litre bag in recyclable box, to a Par Femmes. A Par Femmes is a friend of yours who lives near you - from whom you can collect. Once opened the boxes can keep for 4 weeks - on their side with the tap down, keeping the airlock. Ideal for those of you who live alone and like just one glass with dinner, or for those who like to decant into a quantity that they can see how much they are drinking. Decanting from the box into a pitcher for the dining table just before eating also allows the wine to breathe. A box is also great for gatherings and events where you are not sure how much people will drink but you like to have a hosterly supply. And if all is not drunk then you have some for your next meeting. Store it on it's side.

This is very much a wine that I suggest you have with lunch or dinner. It is an AOC Corbieres and a very good, honest, chomping wine. Here they drink it like water - always present at meal times.

Par Femme is also proposing a rose wine made around the lands of Durban in the Corbieres by again a small producer - Remy Miquel, called St. Just. This is an organic vin de table made with 40% grenache noir and 60% syrah grapes. This wine will keep for 3 months unopened, and 3 weeks once opened. If you would like this in 3 litre boxes as opposed to 5 litres this is possible.

If you are interested in buying some of Monsieur et Madame Martinolle's red wine and/or Remy Miquel's rose wine please email me