2019 Bernard Magrez 6 Vents Minervois

Wine is Bernard Magrez’s life’s passion, and he’s known it since he was 16 years old. He purchased his first vineyard in 1983, and he now owns 43 vineyards around the world, many of them in France in Languedoc, Rousillon, and Provence, along with four esteemed grand cru classé Châteaux in Bordeaux. 

The Grenache and Syrah in 6 Vents are grown in his vineyards in Minervois in the Languedoc Roussillon region, where vineyards grow the grapes that become some of the best wines in the South of France. The vines thrive in the soils of stony limestone plateaus from 200 to 300 meters as well as some deeper sandstone marl altitudes.

The wine’s name refers to the winds that blow through Minervois 300 to 350 days each year. While they may drive the people who live in the region a little crazy, the winds are fantastic for the vines, blowing away any disease pressure. They provide the opportunity to farm the vineyards in the region with little intervention—one of the reasons some of the best wines in the region come from Minervois.

The region also produces some wines of fantastic value, and this Bernard Magrez 6 Vents Minervois is certainly one of those wines. Wine Scholar Guild reports the 2019 vintage verges on excellent, and the 6 Vents surpass the “verges” descriptor and go straight to excellent!