Oiseau Rebelle, Banyuls CRBR, 2016

Guido and Melanie Hube moved from Germany in 2014. Attracted by the terrific potential and quality of the terroir, they purchased 9ha of gnarled old vines on the precipitous, ancient, Precambrian schist-based hillsides scattered around Banyuls-sur-Mer on the Côte Vermeille.
Completely independent, quick to learn and working with a savage passion, they set about improving the condition of the vines, which had previously been treated conventionally, starting the process of organic conversion the following year. The grapes are meticulously sorted, destalked by hand, then crushed by bare foot and transferred into stainless steel vats for fermentation. No sulphur is used whatsoever for any wine, and bottling is carried out by gravity without any pumping. Attention to the tiniest detail continues with the use of small, dark glass bottles that have an extra coating of matt black paint applied to ensure no contamination from UV light, and high-quality natural corks tested to guarantee no TCA.