Jaboulet & Perrin! Nicolas Jaboulet Nicolas Jaboulet, one of the most famous North Rhône wine producers, will release his first wine resulting from the joint venture with the Perrin family of Château Beaucastel. It is Nicolas' first project since leaving the Paul Jaboulet Aîné family empire, which owns the mythical, iconic Hermitage La Kapelle, in early 2009. In this family business he worked for a long time as sales manager. Since 2006, Paul Jaboulet Aîné has belonged to the Frey family from Château La Lagoon in Bordeaux and the only original family member left is Frederic Jaboulet (France and Export Director). Perrin family Château Beaucastel, owned by the Perrin family, is one of the leading estates in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. They own vineyards throughout the South Rhône such as Vinsobres, Vacqueyras, Gigondas, Cairanne and Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The new joint operation will market its wines under the name Nicolas Jaboulet, Perrin Frères. Due to a strict selection, only small quantities of each wine are produced - between 3,000 and 10,000 bottles per vintage. Marc Perrin, one of the four Perrin brothers involved in the project, says: "We have had an interest in the North Rhône for a long time, but wanted to separate this from our other winemaking activities. Now we have finally got the opportunity we have been waiting for ." The first four wines - all vintage 2007 - are called Hermitage Rouge, Hermitage Blanc, Côte Rotie and Saint-Joseph. They're coming onto the market right now. Nicolas Jaboulet says: "We are starting with just four appellations, but will be looking for Cornas and Cordes-Hermitage in the future". maître philippe Maître Philippe sells Saint-Joseph almost exclusively because it goes well with cheese and meat and can be drunk straight away. The other three are great storage wines that we can of course also order for you. Ask in store for prices. All wines are delivered in wooden boxes of 6. Saint Joseph 2007 (100% Syrah) Strong and rich on the nose with wild dark fruits such as blueberries and blackcurrants. Typical aromas of Syrah on a granite floor: violets, graphite and bacon. In the mouth it is extensive with gentle tannins. The finale repeats the dark fruits. This strong wine impresses with a beautiful elegance. Enjoy it now. The bottle (75 cl. ) costs €19.90 Download the Press Revue Wine Spectator as a pdf Download the information sheet Saint-Joseph 2007 as a pdf Download the Crozes-Hermitage 2009 leaflet as a pdf Download the Côte Rotie 2007 information sheet as a pdf

Hecht & Bannier was founded by Gregory Hecht & Francois Bannier in 2002. The cornerstone of this company is the extensive knowledge of vineyards and wine cellars. Each year they visit hundreds of private wineries to select the finest wines and retain the freedom to select only the best from these producers each year. Once this is done, they meet for a tasting to design the perfect blend. Cultivation areas are Minervois, Saint Chinian, Cotes du Roussillon Villages, Faugeres, Maury and Languedoc. In their work, Hecht & Bannier attach great importance to preserving the typical Mediterranean strength, balance and freshness of the wines. THE IDEA "We are convinced that Languedoc-Roussillon, the most talented vineyard in France, is not yet getting the international recognition it deserves." say Hecht & Bannier. "Our wines allow wine lovers to discover the exceptional quality and richness of our region. Often our wines come from cooler mountain foothills, where 100-year-old vineyards are not uncommon. In order to preserve the typical Mediterranean strength in our wines, we also maintain their balance and Freshness. That's our mantra for all the growing areas we produce from." SELECTION "We select the interesting wines for our blends of tastings from each growing area during the harvest and throughout the year. We select our wines from wine cooperatives, young winemakers and from well-known wineries. We only buy wines that are fully fermented and bring them to our estate. We are not bound by any contract to the wineries. Freedom is very important for the wineries and for us because every year we take the liberty to select only the best wines from these producers." so Pike & Bannier. BLOSSOM The blend is designed from selected samples (15 to 30 from each growing area). Each blend is based on 5 to 10 different wines. Hecht & Bannier: "With every blend we want to show how well the individual wines complement each other. We want to remain true to our concept from one vintage to the next and highlight the particularly successful grapes from each region every year." MATURATION Maturation, which they consider to be the core of their work, is particularly important to Hecht & Bannier. That is why they select the wines as early as possible to then take them to their cellars. For the aging of the wines, they prefer large wooden barrels, especially Demi Muids for a gentler micro-oxygenation. The Demi Muids are special barrels, especially for the wines from the south of France. They hold 600 litres, which is 3 times the capacity of a "bordelaise" or "bourguignonne" cask. Relatively less wine is in contact with the wood and the thickness of the stave, 45mm vs. 27mm, allows the development of a ideal structure of the wines. However, 30% of the wines also mature in tanks in order to bring the fruitiness and freshness into the blend.

Louis Lefebvre and Béatrice d'Anselme, winegrowers from the Rhône, come to visit and serve a selection of their wines. Her son Marin, himself an aspiring winemaker and currently part of Maître Philippe & Filles, provides active support. In addition to the red wines “Carpe Diem” and “Trilogie”, which are already known from our range, there are also various white and rosé wines on the tasting table. A tasting dedicated to wine and family traditions - that can only be good!

On Friday, May 20th, Dr. Christina Jagla, a passionate pharmacist, created the herbal elixirs with artichoke and ginseng, the recipe of which came from Benedictine monks and was further refined from generation to generation in the Jaglas family of pharmacists from Wuppertal. Especially nice: the elixirs are not only good for digestion, mind, creativity ... but also really tasty! They taste great neat or on ice, but also as a long drink and cocktail, for example with ginger ale or crémant. Of course we will test both live!

Jean-Yves Bordier is THE French butter pope and his butter creations are known and loved all over the world! Reiner Veit met the master for an interview. Here's a short synopsis of the whole thing.

On her journey through France, Anaïs stops at various of our suppliers. This time she is visiting the Huilerie Leblanc in the Massif Central, from where we source various oils and mustards.

On her journey through France, Anaïs stops at some of our suppliers. This time she visits Family business Domaine du Vieux-Chêne in the Pyrenees, duck breeding and producer of various duck specialties.