Today, Jean-Marie has 20 hectares spread amongst 40 diverse parcels each with different soil compositions and expositions. He respects and utilizes the natural vitality of the land by foregoing any herbicides or pesticides and employs only naturally occurring yeasts. From the beginning, his objective was to cultivate vineyards with the utmost respect for the environment and his wines reflect all of the natural beauty, depth and flavor originating from those vines. The wines Jean-Marie crafts are a passionate testament to this region's multi-dimensionality and ever-expanding potential, these wines reflect the hard work a younger generation of renegade winemakers, who have recently made Saint Chinian home, are crafting and being widely praised for. If you haven't been to this part of France I cannot recommend it highly enough - unpopulated landscapes and terraced vineyards are dotted with ancient ruins, rustic yet delicious cuisine is readily available and affordable - and the extraordinary wines crafted here make it a great destination for lovers of history, unbridled nature, hearty traditional fare, and of course great wines.

Jean-Marie's Petit Cochon Bronzè is a heady blend of Carignan, Cinsault, Syrah and Mourvèdre. The grapes are grown on the southerly slopes of the Cevennes foothills that are sheltered by the Caroux Mountains. The arid terroir consists of flakey Schist which is compressed clay and shale that happens to be highly acidic, thus lending the wine another important dimension. The grapes are harvested at their maximum ripeness and immediately destemmed. They are gently crushed and all the juice is fermented with naturally occurring yeasts. The skins are removed from the vats 36 hours after pressing-thus lending this rosé its beautiful dark pink color. The wine rests in stainless steel in a cellar that is half-buried into the earth so the temperature in the winery is naturally regulated. The wine undergoes a light filtering when it is bottled, on site, and released in the early spring.

This rosé is dark pink in the glass with a rusty nail red rounding the rim of the glass. Deep scents of ultra-ripe crushed red cherries, a note of guava paste, overripe fig flesh and a pretty, yet smoky note of sweet herbs. Blood Orange infused red berry flavors dominate the palate and are set-off by the wines generous minerality. Serve this hearty summer wine with a spicy couscous and lamb tagine, flame grilled chicken dishes, spicy lamb or beef kebabs, sweet barbequed pork dishes and succulent Asian dishes.

—Donald