Keep calm ...

I love this label. I loved the wine even more. Carignan is an underdog grape once known mainly for cheap rosé - but when harvested at low yield from old vines (in this case a mix of 80 and 100 year olds) it can produce an amazingly dense red. The vines grow on precipitous, deep shale slopes littered with big stones, in Fitou. The wine spent a year in French oak and now has a touch of toasty spice along with its fennel, liquorice and black fruit taste.

We enjoyed it immensely, and remained calm throughout ...