Le Bon Papa 2023, Pierre Cros

Pierre Cros, an ex rugby player, is a genuine winemaker from the Languedoc wine region. Domaine Pierre Cros is based in Badens, situated in the Minervois, surroundered by the Canal du Midi to the South and the Montagne Noire to the North. It is here in the intense heat of the southern sun that little else grows except the vine and olive tree. And it is here that Pierre Cros cultivates his 20 hectares of vines including the classic Southern french varieties of Grenache, Carignan and Syrah. However, he is something of a maverick and a thorn in the side of the AOC authorities, as most unusually, he grows the non-permitted grape varieties of Nebiolo (Italy), Touriga Nacional (Portugal) and Pinot Noir (Burgundy). Low yield and vines dating from 1905 contribute to the production of some extremely fascinating and popular wines which are deep and structured and very enjoyable. “I neither pretend to teach you how you should taste my wines… nor when… or why… or (even worse) with whom. I would just like to outline certain reflexions and ideas, which in my opinion are important for today’s wine world. I would like to tell you, for example, that above all I am a peasant, a hillbilly if you like, with all my knowledge and all my doubts. And I am surely a full man, proud about his roots and proud to rrrrrole the R’s like people do in my country.” Pierre Cros