Wines that shun the mainstream
Honest, warm and one of a kind – Michel’s wines reflect their maker. They are an open love letter to his untamed homeland of Corbières, the region that inspires him.
All the bottlings in Michel’s three-tier quality pyramid are singular creations – fresh, savoury, emotional wines that shun the mainstream, freed from appellation constraints.
“My goal is to share a part of me. To share my identity and my terroir through wines that break the mould.”
Les Icônes "Rules are made to be broken"
Les Icônes are the perfect translation of this, the idiom that guides Michel Raynaud’s work. Exceptional bottlings that reflect Michel’s nonconformist idea of wine most clearly.
These products of instinct follow their own rules, confounding preconceived ideas and assumptions along the way. Products of indiscipline, some might say. Or even polarising. But a creative, logical breath of fresh air.
Les Classiques If Les Icônes are completely unfettered, Les Classiques adhere to a somewhat purer, more traditional framework
Michel Raynaud sees this not as a straitjacket but as a virtue, using all his expertise to reveal the true character of his local terroir. Each of these bottlings are a selfless homage to Michel’s home region – a case of the winemaker letting the wine speak for itself.
But the approach is anything but hands-off. Even here, Michel’s inimitable free spirit shines through as he interprets a range of historic grape varieties in his own unique way.
Les Cépages A return to the essentials.
Les Cépages is everything stripped down to the basics – delicious, approachable single-varietal bottlings that recall the art of winemaking in its purest form, each of them expressing the grape’s full aromatic potential.
Of course, such a faithful translation of varietal character owes nothing to chance but is – figuratively and literally – the fruit of numerous terroirs with which his home region is blessed. These are balanced, honest Pays d’Oc wines giving lots of drinking pleasure.
