Domaine Madeloc, Banyuls

Fresh stocks of Gaillard's sweetly captivating wines from France's Pays Catalan

For the uninitiated, Banyuls are vins doux naturels, fortified sweet wines, akin to our own Muscats and similar to, but a step above, the Rivesaltes produced in the rest of Roussillon. These delicious sweet wines, some of the best kept secrets in our portfolio, hail from parcels on the spectacular schist terraces that hug the coastline as it twists around the Mediterranean between the little ports of Banyuls and Collioure. Pierre Gaillard had always been fascinated by the rugged beauty of the Banyuls countryside as by the huge potential of the terroir. In 2002, he purchased the old estate of Pagès and went into partnership with Jean Baills and his son Mathieu, owners of a 15ha vineyard in Banyuls. The combination of Baills’ knowledge of the terroir and Gaillard’s talents as a winemaker, as well as a well-equipped cellar has resulted in a rejuvenation of both the vineyards and the wines

Grown on the terraces of dark brown schist that slope down towards the Mediterranean, the grapes (mainly Grenache, with smaller amounts of Grenache Gris, Carignan, Cinsault and Syrah) are... read more