Le Casot des Mailolles
Jordi in his cellar. Photo by Little Wines.
Jordi Perez makes wine in Banyuls, a small seaside town in Southern France that we love waxing poetic about—especially when it touches on an old Citroën garage, crammed with old barrels and smelling like mossy pavers and fermenting grenache. This is the Casot de Mailloles cellar, where a minuscule number of bottles are produced each vintage.
When Jordi took over this historic domaine in 2015, he added a few parcels north of town, from which he produces some simpler wines—we received these last fall and drank them way too quickly. This fresh set of arrivals represents the full production from the original two vineyards in the mountains above town: “La Goudy,” a precipitously steep vineyard co-planted to ancient Carignan vines and an array of red, white and gray grapes; and “Taillelauque,” an insanely exposed and beautiful plot which faces directly onto the Mediterranean sea, planted to a mix of red varieties. The two parcels are worked by hand, without the aid of machines, animals or chemicals—only a “xadic,” which is a local version of a pick-axe, specifically designed to work the black slate soil. Needless to say, it takes a particular kind of person to choose this kind of work.
The wines from this vintage are dense and sleek, with a sinewy texture that reminds me of a manzanita branch snaking its way to sunlight. The familiar combo of sea salt and spice is present, but it's fully imbedded in ripe fruit and fuzzy corners. We received one case each of the following wines.
Bradford
Vi-si-num: A co-fermentation of all the grapes growing at “La Goudy.” Always the lightest and most delicately floral. One barrel produced. $70
Soula: An open and generous expression of Grenache Noir from the Taillelauque vineyard, dusted with cinnamon, clove and sea salt. $52
El Niño: Carignan, Grenache and Mourvèdre from both vineyards. Powerful and refreshing. $37
Gôme: A new wine! A selection of Syrah from the Taillelauque vineyard. Warmly spiced, savory and generous. $42
Blanc de Casot: Considered by many to be the flagship wine of the domaine, and one of the definitive white wines of France. A blend of Grenache Blanc and Macabeu, which are lightly macerated before being blended together with Vermentino, Roussane and a smattering of other varieties, all sourced from "La Goudy." Fully ripe but shot throughout with an inscrutable umami quality. We’re pretty obsessed with this wine here at the shop and love sharing our tiny allocation each year. $52
