Domaine Viret Les Colonnades sulphite free wine

Appellation Cotes du Rhone Villages St Maurice Controlee. Grenache, Mouverdre and Carignan, aged in barriques for 24 months. Deep ruby in colour with a big nose of white chocolate and mint. Swirl it in the glass and you'll see it has great legs. I commented 'it even smells smooth'! Again there's apparent alcohol, but this is very well balanced by strong fruit flavours and just the right acidity. It's big and rich, full bodied, with a little smokey pepper. It's very smooth with a long finish.

All Philippe's wines are beyond organic, being produced under his trademarked system of "Cosmoculture" which is a blend of organic and biodynamic principles with ancient beliefs about nature derived from as far afield as the Aboriginees and the Native American Indians. This is further coupled with telluric energy as Alain, Philippe's father, built the winery on an ancient Roman site around an underground spring which they believe energises the vineyards and the winery. They have obelisks dotted around the vineyards to suck down energy from the stars too!

It goes much deeper than this as they built the winery on the former Roman site out of the same stone the Romans used (5 tonne blocks of sandstone), in the same method using no mortar. And they designed it to face a certain direction, as had the Romans, which is something to do with "the magic number". Please read their explanation of Cosmoculture on their website, it is fascinating. And I can honestly say Philippe makes wines like nobody else - they are superb, delicious, healthy and energising!