This is the wild and hairy Eric Mari. He is a young chap who lives up in the hills of the Minervois in the South of France. He tirelessly works every day on his 24 hectare wine estate....he employs one part timer. His wines are sensational. He makes one white wine (Viognier) and three reds. The reds are blends of Syrah and Grenache with sometimes a dash of good quality Carignan. Eric's USP is really the terroir and the vineyard sites. When we had a UK buyer visiting recently we tasted some wines up in the vineyards on a warm Summer evening. We had to walk through the garrigue* and down a small path through the different vineyards. The soils are sandstone...but different red and yellow multilayered sandstones. There are also some limestone outcrops and clay soils. Each small vineyard parcel is very different with pine trees and small spindly oak, almond and olive trees surrounding each unique spot.
* The garrigue is a fragrant mix of lavender, thyme, rosemary, sage and juniper that acts like a scrub in the mediterranean area. The fragrance from this wild hedgerow undoubtedly positively affects the style and uniqueness of these wines.
www.laprademari.com has more background details.
If you want more price details or to check on availibity then drop me an email or have a look at www.bellawines.co.uk