Two of our colleagues visited this vineyard in late August this year a few days before the vendange  (grape harvest) was due to start. Normally white grapes are picked first and red picked later as they need a little longer to reach maturation. All the staff were busy cleaning and preparing all the equipment necessary for picking and pressing the grapes quickly so that the juice could be processed through primary fermentation prior to going into the main secondary fermentation tanks.  

Their guide was the hospitable manager Francoise Hivert who took them around the Chateau first, followed by a viewing in the cellars of the chateau to see the processes required to make their wines. It was a very pleasant summer day typical of the Languedoc and perfect for the grapes.

The Chateau dates from the 15th century and was successively owned by the Jean Provenquiere passing to the Marquis of Puisserguier in the 18th century. In 1860 Paul Teissonière,  Napoleon III’s Counsellor bought it. The Robert family became the owners in 1954 at which time much of the terroir now used for vines were apple orchards. The family decided that apples grew better in the cooler wetter climate of Normandy and replanted the area with vines.

You can view and buy their wines by clicking here.

An aerial view of the chateau showing the proximity of the vineyards. The vines are located on the most convenient soil according to each different grape-variety.This allows each variety to come to its full potential on the 150 hectares wide vineyard spread over 4 different villages.

An oil painting in the main reception room of the chateau of children who once lived here

The Proprietor Claude Robert at the business end in the Chateau cellars

Brigitte Robert and Francoise in the Chateau's sales end the shop.

The head winemaker getting ready for the hard work to come.

Our visitors Keith and Dennis in the packing department.

Fermentation tanks ready for use.

SHOP REFURBISHMENT - MARCH/APRIL 2010

The dream team

The refurbishment begins.Don the tiler/ painter/ chippie/ cleaner/ telephone engineer allegedly working hard.

Two weeks later and Don has laid the third tile.

The work continues.

And continues

Settling in the work almost finished

The wines are back on the shelves ready for business.

Looks like a busy wine shop once again.

A VISITOR FROM OZ - ALWAYS A TREAT - FEB 2010

As part of his UK trip to the Australian Wine Fair in London, Grant Bellvé, the International Manager of Tyrrell's Wines paid us a visit. We at Village Wines have always been great enthusiasts of Tyrrell's Wines and Grant was keen to show how much they value the support they have from the independent wine trade. We thought it would be rude not to sample some of their recent vintages which Grant had brought along. This re-enforced our view of Tyrrell's as a producer of the highest quality which has lasted for five generations of the Tyrrell family. The range of Tyrrell's wines offered by Village Wines can be found by clicking here.

Russ with Grant Bellvé on his visit to the shop.Grant is the good-looking one on the left.

25 YEARS ON AND STILL TRADING - DEC 2009

We thought 25 years as an independant wine merchant was something worth celebrating so our annual pre-Christmas wine tasting seemed as good a time as any to lay on a "bit of a do", complete with a large cake and some special wines. As you can see below a good time was had by all.

Believe it or not we still retain our enthusiasm for bringing wines which have the stamp of originality and individuality to like minded wine-lovers. Of course much has changed in theworld of wine in those 25 years, perhaps the most striking being how much the overall quality of wine has improved. Deciding which wines to list has become much more difficult and sadly involves us in much more tasting! However, our dedication to continuously seeking out wines (and winemakers) that continuously provide quality and value for money, despite the many upward pressures on wine prices, has ensured we have a wine list of which we are justifiably proud

The Cake

Marcelle and Andrew

Mr Evans and Guiseppe

Dr. Sutton deciding which medicine to purchase.

Les from Village Wines says a few words

And some more.

Les cuts the cake.

Les listens to comments about a wine being sampled.

Kay and Lou

WHAT A LOVELY WAY TO SPEND AN EVENING - NOV 2009

We have teamed up with our good friend Giuseppe Tomaselli, who has extensive knowledge of wine and food, to run evening wine courses in the comfort of your home. Each lesson will include how to taste wine, with six wines from Village Wines; how to recognise quality in wines, matching food and wine and much more, all for £15 per person. As a bonus all participants will get 5% off any wines ordered. More details are available on request and Giuseppe will be also at our own tasting to promote this new collaboration.

QUALITY AND VALUE - OCT 2009

We at Village Wines have always prided ourselves on offering quality and value at all price points. Whilst we acknowledge that in wine the concept of “you only get what you pay for” is broadly accurate, occasionally we find wines that are definitely punching above their weight in terms of quality and price. We like to think that this is particularly evident in our current crop of new wines. Sicilian Fiano, South African Chenin Blanc From Franschoek and Portuguese Touriga Nacional are superb grapes in the right winemakers hands and allied to some fine examples of modern French and Italian wines all feature in our Newcomers “Six of the Best” mixed case which exemplifies the concept of quality and value.