Mas Mellet

We are delighted to introduce the wines of Mas Mellet to our range, and to the UK. Brice and Emilie Bolognini have been carefully tending the vines of this small estate in the very southern area of the Costières de Nîmes since 2002, when they took over the estate located in Gallician, in the Gard. At the time the estate comprised of 27 hectares of abandoned vines, which were carefully nursed back to production for the inaugural 2003 vintage.

Very early on Brice and Emilie realised that organic viticulture was the way forward, and so to accommodate this they reduced their holdings to 16 hectares, and certification soon followed in 2007. These days biodynamics are an important part of the viticulture too, and the Bologninis believe in keeping intervention to as low a level as possible – retaining the fruit and the character of the terroir. Most of the wines are classified as Vin de France – a badge of honour for Brice and Emilie as a sign that they are making exactly the sort of wines they want to, and are inspired by.

The wines are stunning – pure, fresh and with a notable line of salinity that runs through them all. From the price of Le B one would expect a simple, easy-drinking wine, but this blend of Roussanne, Vermentino, Grenache Blanc and Viognier has waves of complexity and a beautiful stone fruit intensity.

Les Fleurs des Salines is pure Vermentino, from red clay soils and vinified in sandstone egg. The classic Vermentino acidity gives the wine a brilliant backbone, with fleshy fruit wrapped around it. Lily Rose is absolutely charming – made from Grenache, Cinsault and Mourvèdre, the strawberry and raspberry flavours dominate but elegance is the name of the game. Les Salines is a completely different proposal – a deep and powerful rosé made from three parcels of old Carignan vines, the oldest dating back to 1948. This is astoundingly complex, with concentrated maraschino cherry and gariguette strawberry flavours along with the characteristic lick of salt, as the name would suggest. In the reds, Le Chemin des Salines is a blend of Cinsault, Grenache and a little Syrah and is the perfect red to serve slightly chilled, to capitalise on the beautifully light red fruit flavors. Pari Finesse is a more classical style, with more Syrah in the blend and subsequently the beautiful garrigue and black pepper character alongside the juicy dark fruit.

Quantities are incredibly limited.

https://www.masmellet.com