Domaine Sainte Croix is owned and run by the English husband and wife team of Jon and Elizabeth Bowen. These are truly artisan wines crafted in an unfashionable area of France that has long been dominated by co-operative production. They are based in the village of Fraïssé des Corbières which sits on the border between the Languedoc and the Roussillon, 20 minutes in from the Mediterranean. The 13 hectare Domaine is made up of gnarled vines that are over 100 years old, production is organic and the wines display all the hallmarks of elegant living wines that have been carefully crafted with minimal sulphur and loads of love. They are an amazing set of wines which are highly recommended.

The majority of the wines are red and made from the classic southern French grape varieties of Grenache, Syrah, Carignan and Mourvedre. These are four grape varieties that blend together to produce wines of extraordinary complexity. The fashion maybe to bottle wines as single varietals but a carefully blended wine is a thing of pure joy. Le Fournas is a Carignan dominated blend which is unoaked, Magneric spends 16 months in old oak and is a more equal blend with the exception of Mourvedre which is about 5% whilst Pourboise is Carignan dominated with Grenache and is bottled without any added SO2. Le Parts des Ange is a limited release late harvest Carignan which is a delicious alternative to Port. The white Le Serre is a blend of Grenache Blanc and Gris aged for nine months in tank on its lees. It is a unique and wild style which is quite thrilling!