The Story:

Fabulous, large, family-run Côtes de Thongue domaine, offering sixteen different wines that deliver at every price point; Michel Cros the owner was one of the original pioneers who kickstarted the Côtes de Thongue syndicate in the early 80s. I had to rearrange my visit because Michel was called to pick up medals from the Concours de Paris, in this case for one of his whites and one of his rosés. Doubtless they are good, but for me, but it’s the syrah-based reds that make this domaine stand out from the field.

Their entry level syrah-merlot blend, the Cuvée des Amis rouge (price band A), gets an extra star for sheer knockbackability, but the pleasures just ramp up as the price points increase.  Their Chemin Partagé rouge (price band B) skilfully blends syrah, merlot and cabernet sauvignon with a small portion of the syrah having been aged in oak, offering restrained complexity beyond mere pleasure so that it’s a properly coherent wine. Their mid-range wine, Excellence (price band C) is richly satisfying with food, while their Cuveé 1860 Reserve (price band D) is drawn from some of their oldest syrah vines and is sumptuously drinkable, while the syrah-merlot blend, the Cuvée Marianne (price band D+), albeit priced into the stars, is a honey of a wine, aged in amphoras for two years. (Also worth a look is their Bordeaux style blend, Ame des Pins - price band B.)

Among their whites, in particular worth your consideration is the chardonnay-viognier blend, Chemin Partagé blanc (price band B), with its simply marvellous nose and creamy mouth-feel, and from the pinks, their delightful top rosé, called ‘La Grande Vague’ (price band C) in a nod to the painting of a wave in front of Mount Fuji by Hokusai

Visiting is extremely easy as their tasting room is open six days a week, morning and afternoon, and next to the tasting bar is a shop stuffed with enough beautifully presented artisanal olive oils, patés and jams to make even a resident of East Dulwich go weak at the knees.