This exciting new vineyard was purchased by Jean-Francois Herbinger, an industrialist, in November 2000. He enlisted the help of Eloï Durrbach of Domaine de Trévallon, one of France’s most talented winemakers, to advise on the restructuring of the vineyard and the cellars.

The vineyards are situated on south facing slopes near Vauvert, with varied soils, based on the last alluviums of the river Rhone, with galets (pudding stones), which store the hot daytime sunshine for release in the night. The vineyard philosophy is for rational biological protection, without the use of chemical weed killers or fertilizers. The soil is worked mechanically, and grapes are picked by hand. Most of the vines are between 20 and 30 years old, with a few Grenache and Carignan of over 50 years old.

The white varieties are Grenache, Roussanne, Viognier, Bourboulenc and Ugni Blanc, and the reds are from Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache, Carignan, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cinsault. Yields are very low, between 20 and 35 hectolitres per hectare. The cellars have been modernized, with wooden fermentors for the reds, and some barrel ageing (8 months for the whites, and 12 to 14 months for the red). These are very pure wines, elegant rather than blockbusting, and the Costières de Nîmes white is one of the best white wines we have found from the south of France.

Benoît and Laurent Dardé took over the family domaine in the 1980s, and replaced the existing vineyards of table grapes with wine grapes. They started by selling part of the wine in bulk, but now all the wine is domaine bottled. They have now constructed a temperature controlled cellar and winery, and even a small barrel ageing cellar. Their white wine is vinified in stainless steel, with 20% in barriques. From a blend of 60% Roussanne and 40% Grenache, it is fresh, clean, and lightly floral. There is also a small quantity of Cuvée Hippolyte in white, named after their great grandfather. This is from 90% Roussanne and 10% Grenache, vinified and aged for six months in new oak barriques. It has rich floral smoky fruit, with good weight and richness. "New World" style at its best. The rosé has always been one of our favourite rosé wines. It is very fruity, soft, and quaffable, easy drinking on its own, or for any occasion. It is from a blend of around 60% syrah, 35% Grenache, and 5% Mourvèdre. We have sold out of the 2003, but have a little 2002 left, which drinks very well.

The 2001 Civette is from a blend of Syrah and Grenache. It is peppery, ripe and supple, with good colour, and ripe tannins. The Rameaux, from 100% Syrah, is a more backward, and more serious, wine. The 2000 has firm spicy supple ripe fruit, elegant, smoky, and well balanced. The 2001 is a little more backward, but is starting to show good promise. The 2000 Hippolyte Red is from 100% Syrah, selected from their best parcelles, aged in new oak barriques for around 16 months. The wine has soft sweet ripe bramble fruit, with broad, spicy flavours and good backbone. Already attractive, and will improve further over the next couple of years.

Gerard and Christine Eynaud have fifteen hectares of vines to the south west of Nîmes. The vines were inherited from his family, but his father had always sold grapes to the co-operative, and Gerard wanted to do his own thing. He is the only grower in the Costières who is not even a member of the Syndicat, and has a very independent and individualist philosophy of winemaking. Only the vintages which really excite him are bottled as Grand Signature; the next best vintages may go into Petite Signature, and the rest will either be sold as Bag in Box, or as simple Vin de Pays du Gard. Yields are low, at around 25 to 30 hectolitres per hectare for the white, and 35 to 40 for the red. Wines are unfiltered and unfined, and are kept in cuve for a couple of years before bottling. The 2000 red has only just been bottled, and will only be sold from next year.

Grande Signature Red is from old vine Grenache and Syrah grown on his most stony soil, and the 1997 is delicious now, with smoky peppery fruit, and supple smooth tannins. The Grande Signature White is from a blend of Roussanne and Bourboulenc, and the 2000 is rich, floral and perfumed, with good balancing acidity. It is surprising how few vintages have excited him enough to be bottled, and that he still has some stocks of older vintages available. The Roulette a Boulettes are attractive "house wine" style dry rosé and white.

Originally, Michel Tardieu purchased his Costières de Nîmes through Chateau Grande Cassagne. The blend is from 90% syrah and 10% Grenache. Ripe fruit nose, with peppery spicy syrah fruit and the fatness of Grenache. Good length and structure, already delicious.

The Lame Delisle Boucard family has one of the largest collections of old vintages in their cobwebbed cellars, with wines back to the 19^th century. The wines are aged in large oak foudres, and in a top vintage may spend three to five years in cask before bottling. The Prestige cuvee is a selection of their finest vineyards, selected for long ageing potential, whilst the young Cuvee des Chesnaies has delicious youthful cabernet franc fruit.

Domaine La Begude is run by the Tari family from Bordeaux, and is the highest altitude vineyard in the Bandol region. The wines are aged in barrique, and are more elegant and refined than many more traditional Bandols. The 1997 is drinking very well now.

His red, traditionally vinified in wooden open top fermentors, with low yields, late picking, and long cuvaison, is rich, powerful and complex, with the smoky ripeness of syrah balancing the firm structure of cabernet sauvignon. The wine spends two years in wood, foudres with about 10% new barriques. This is a wine which can age superbly for ten to twenty years.

The white is one of our favourite whites; maybe unfashionable, but very nutty, complete, and complex, almost reminiscent of Vin Jaune in the richness of fruit. It spends about 18 months in wood, and is from Clairette and Grenache Blanc. The Rosé is a very intriguing wine, also vinified in oak barrels, with ripe herbs and garrigue tones, and powerful but elegant fruit. One of the most serious rosé wines in existence. The red is soft, spicy and with raspberry and garrigue aromas and flavours, ripe, baked and earthy, with rounded tannins.