A perfect winter warmer
2006 Vacqueyras, Garrigues, Domaine Montirius, Southern Rhône, France (£11.95, Berry Bros & Rudd, 0800-2802 440,
www.bbr.com
).
The biodynamic movement is gathering pace in the wine world. In theory, achieving a holistic balance between the soil, the vine and the air creates a happy and hardy plant.
The lack of man-made chemicals and fertilisers is clearly a good thing, but this mantra goes a few stages further by 'treating' the vine and the vineyard in harmony with the phases of the moon.
In your biodynamic calendar there are fruit days, root days, leaf days and so on, it is on these days that you administer wholly natural tweaks and tinctures to your patient vines.
Now all of this would be poppycock if the resulting wines tasted poor, but, hand on heart, most biodynamically produced wines seem to have an integrity and worthiness about them that makes it all of the way from the vineyard to the glass. And this spectacular Vacqueyras is one such wine.
Stock up now, because this wine is a great price and it is the perfect winter warmer for stews and groaning cheese boards.
• Matthew Jukes is a winner of the International Wine & Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year.