Macabeu

The beauty of this time of year is getting to enjoy stunning blue skies, radiant sunshine but no crushing heat. What better therefore than a wine which beautifully illustrates the bridging between seasons. Our wonderfully crisp and zesty Vineyard Collection Macabeu is ideal either to be sipped in the warm sun with an aperitif of prawns, salmon blinis with a dill spread and some garlic and herb-infused olives, or to accompany a warming October dish of fish pie, honey-roasted gammon joint, a platter of fresh seafood or this succulent lime and fennel salmon, recipe below !  

Macabeu is a superbe grape variety which once helped make this region world-reknown. But how about we let Simone, one of our very own old Macabeu vines tell you herself: 

I have been bred to make enormous amounts of grapes. My big, golden bunches were the pride of the area in the seventies when a fortified, sweet wine called Rivesaltes was so 'à la mode' that my owners were known as ‘americains’. But as Rivesaltes fell from its podium, so did I. Most of my macabeu friends are long gone, ripped up and replaced by younger, more profitable vines. You can imagine how grateful I am to Katie for saving me and my friends in this tiny vineyard called Le Colombier. So many people tried to warn Katie not to take us on, that we weren’t capable of producing low yields and serious wines. I’m so glad she didn’t listen to them! You can be sure that we are listening to her every instruction – low yields, small bunches, low yields, small bunches …. I think we’re doing OK! Susy Atkins thinks so too because she said that she was in love with our wine! And then she went on and on making all Katie’s hard work so worthwhile:
‘It’s one of those wines that you can go back to again and again and you will get more and more out of it. Pears with a slight tang of lime, orchard fruit – apple and pears, melon and a bit of honey. Lovely texture and quite full with a succulent end. A great wine!’