Using the Sérine varietal, a lesser-known sibling of Syrah principally associated with some of the finest Côte-Rôtie, and riffing on the tradition in that fabled AOC of blending a little Viognier with the red grapes, Paulette has created a striking wine full of seductive perfume and elegant, soft edges.

The split is in fact 50% of Sérine to 30% of the white grape, but the deep colour of the wine goes some way to show how much pigment is contained within these thick-skinned, tightly-clustered berries. Things are lifted further by the remaining 20%, a direct-press of Cinsault - a new addition for this vintage.

Aromatically it is pure Syrah – briny black olive tapenade, peppery blackcurrant fruit – but on the palate the Viognier reveals itself in the more unexpected sensation of citrus peel, fennel, green olive and brings a silky fluidity. It is the harmony found between these two opposing dynamics in which the wine succeeds. Sleek, herbal, with powdery dry spices, it's a wine that never fails to dazzle, 

One of her négociant cuvees, the grapes come from an organic domaine in Sardan, Gard, planted over limestone-clay in a secluded pine forest. Macerated as whole bunches with the juice of the Cinsault over 20 days with very little movement beyond keeping the cap submerged, it was slowly pressed off to a fiberglass cuve to rest for 9 months before bottling with no additions at any stage.