Mas Amiel Plaisirs Blanc 2012

Product Description

This delightful white is the perfect match for fish terrines, oysters or light salads. Mas Amiel is a large property in the heart of the Agly valley, in France's Roussillon region. This is Cathar country: it's beautiful but rugged—a hot, rather hostile environment with rocky, stony soils, frequent windy weather, & 260 days' sunshine a year. Back in 1816, a bishop used one of his plots of land as a bet in a game of cards. He lost it to a fellow player by the name of Raymond Amiel, & this is how Mas Amiel was born. At the time, this large plot only had 10 hectares of vines on it; it has grown substantially since then. There are now 150 hectares of vineyards on this large 226 hectare estate. But yields here are tiny, ranging from 10–22 hectares each hectare, & some of the vines almost a century old. They struggle, but the grapes they produce in small quantities are intense & concentrated, with the potential to make superb wines. The heart of the Mas Amiel range is formed by the traditional sweet fortified wines that are unique to this region. Maury is made by allowing fermentation to start, but then stopping it by adding alcohol, which kills the yeasts, & leaves lots of sugar in the wine—this is similar to the way Port is produced. Then comes the stage unique to Maury: the wine is placed into glass demi-johns & left outside for a year. This causes an intentional oxidation, & changes the wine's colour, making it lighter. It then goes into large oak, where it can stay for a short while, or many years. The result is a complex sweet wine of real intensity. The wines of Mas Amiel are highly regarded by sommeliers in some of France's top restaurants, & so we are thrilled to be able to represent them exclusively in the UK. This is one of France's great wine domaines, with a unique story to tell. This refreshing white is crisp & zesty with aromas of orange blossom & accacia. This is a qwine that delivers with both the packaging & the palate.