One of our first imports post Brexit (yes lots more paperwork, higher costs and delays at ports!) was from Domaine d’Aigues Belles in the Languedoc. We started importing Aigues Belles around fifteen years ago as we discovered them whilst in France and were surprised to find the wines not available in the UK. Over the years the Cuvée Nicole has been particularly good and popular with many of our customers.
In fact, we waited to ship until they had bottled the 2020 Rosé, Cuvée du Poirer des Rougettes and we are glad we did because it is a stunner, pale as we like it and bursting with fruit, dry, perfect for the summer (80% Grenache and 20% Cinsault). Their second white, L’Autre Blanc is another of their wines like the Rosé which sells out quickly each year, such is their reputation in France. It is a blend of Roussane 45%, Sauvignon 50% and Chardonnay 25% and yet again has scored highly in the French wine Guide Hachette.
The red, Cuvée Nicole 2018, was included in a Drinks’ Business Magazine review of “exciting wine finds from the Languedoc earlier this year. A blend of Syrah and Cabernet it must be labelled as Pays d’Oc as the latter grape which hails from Bordeaux is not authorised in the region. It shows well the quality on offer within the Pays d’Oc classification being a structured, complex, age worthy red with a broad range of flavours from cigar box and cedar to dark cherry and blackberry along with a touch of spice and ripe olive – a really good find for sub £20”. The second red is a new offering from the Domaine, L’Epique 2018, 60% Syrah and 40% Mouvedre and classified as a Pic Saint Loup, where the Domaine is based, one of the coolest and wettest areas of the Languedoc. Still youthful but another wine full of complexity and dark fruits.
To celebrate their return to our list and to the UK we are offering a mixed case with three bottles of each of the four wines for £179 (a saving of over £60).
Great reviews from Bobellsbubbles on Instagram (“such a superstar! I ordered all the wine the night before and had it at my office the next day”)
