2021 Domaine du Mas Bécha Côtes du Roussillon Blanc ‘Classique’

60% Grenache Blanc, 40% Vermentino; all certified organic. The vines are planted on clay-limestone soils with galets in the village of Les Aspres, sharing the land with olive trees and other cohabitating crops. Fermented and aged simply in stainless steel.

Full of bold tropical pineapple aromatics and flavors underscored by pithy citrus and white nectarine. There’s a faint floral hint and just a bit of grassiness. Medium bodied, round and very smooth with a little bit of almond bitterness to the finish. Very food friendly- try it with chicken satay, Moroccan tagine, garlic chicken, grilled eggplant or with cheeses such as Brie and Comté.

Mas Bécha was founded in 2008 by Charles Perez, a native of Perpignan. After enology school, Charles worked harvests in Bordeaux and the United States before completing the Master of Science in Wine Management delivered by the OIV (International Wine Organization). He returned to his family’s 215 acre estate, which had previously sold all of its fruit to a local bulk-wine producer, where most of it was designated for sweet wines. The estate now boasts  62 acres of vines, with the rest of the land devoted to gardening, almond trees, olive trees, forage plants and cork oaks. They achieved organic certification in 2011.  

Bordered by the Spanish border in Northern Catalonia, the Aspres represent the often forgotten region of Roussillon, south of Perpignan. Its own appellation “Côtes du Roussillon Villages Les Aspres” was only made official in 2004.