Producer · Rhone, France

Les Terres du Roy

Terres du Roy means 'lands of the king'. Roy is the old way of spelling roi. The vines grow seven kilometres north of Avignon, on what were once two lakes, Lake Rochefort and Lake Pujaut.

The lakes were drained in 1612 to give quarrelling neighbours more farmland. You can still see the old lakebed in the stony, pebble-covered soils, on hills looking over the Pujaut plain. The vines are around 40 years old on average, and farmed sustainably.

Their Côtes du Rhône blends Grenache, Syrah, Carignan and Mourvèdre, made in steel tanks with no oak. Expect ripe red and black fruit, soft tannins and juicy freshness.

Winery at Pujaut, Rhone · Grenache, Syrah, Carignan and Mourvèdre · £13.49 a bottle