Pedres Blanques, Rouge VDF 2022

Rié and Hiro Shoji met in Burgundy, where they worked for two of the region’s greats, Fréddy Mugnier and Fred Cossard. Rather than setting up shop in Burgundy like their friends at  Chanterêves, the couple bought a small plot of arid, windswept land in Roussillon, just north of the Spanish border. They produced their first vintage - a single red wine made from grenache - in 2017, and the fervor around their tiny operation has risen meteorically ever since.

This red remains their only bottling. It’s 100% whole-cluster grenache, and it’s simply electric. Earthy, dark fruited, deeply savory. It’s rich and complex - think spices and olive tapenade - yet simultaneously floral and lifted in a way that reminds us of grenache from a few hours north at Rayas.