The Story:

The co-operative dates back to 1937 and delivers on its aim: namely to offer competitively priced wines, almost exclusively mono varietals, that offer simple expressions of the grapes they’ve vinified. The quantity of wine involved is quite staggering, and its base is an absolutely massive warehouse on the outskirts of Abeilhan.

Bear in mind that if you aren’t not expecting the earth, you won’t be disappointed. Indeed, every wine here is true to its varietal character, but for the most part presents only a limited albeit technically correct expression of that variety; at this price, it’s what you can expect. The exception is the Fleurs de Montblanc merlot, which won a gold medal at the Concours de Paris and you can see why. Oodles of generous damson fruit on the palate. It’s not complex but it’s very easy to like and miraculously well priced (Price Bracket: AA). Their cabernet sauvignon isn’t bad either, though it doesn’t have the same whiff of star quality. (Price bracket: AA)

This co-operative produces mindboggling amounts of wine and offers a scene of quite old school France. While I was there, a friendly old gent in his cloth cap came in to fill up his two litre container with their basic vin de France rouge. I suspect he troops in once or twice a week on the same journey. At €1.40 a litre, it’s a smart move.