Merlot (dry red wine) 2007, 2009 (2006, 2008 sold out)
A fine red wine with notes of plum and blackberry and a smooth mocha finish. Enjoy with pasta, red meat or dark poultry. Thirty year old vines contribute finesse to this designated vineyard, limited production wine.
Wine Critic's Comments:
‘A strong aromatic impression, intense colour and a spicy, perfumed nose. A powerful wine offering black fruit aromas’ Guide Hachette 2009 (the merlot was selected and starred)
Thé 2006 of this wine won a medal on the Bordeaux wine competition in 2008 and on the Decanter wine competition in 2009
Click this bolded text to read what Jon Rimmerman, wine retailer in the US says about this wine.Then read about our label designs and sensitive cristallisation.
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La Source - merlot cabernet sauvignon barrel-aged blend 2006, 2008 (2007 sold out)
This fine blend of merlot and cabernet sauvignon offers dark fruit and spice on the nose followed by dark fruit and plum on the palate with notes of mocha in the finish. A concentrated wine that is promising to deliver good aging potential and complexity.
Wine Critics' Comments:
‘absolutely gorgeous’ Sandra Mooney, The Irish Times
'Lavish Autumn berry flavours with a nice touch of freshness. Beware, this is the sort of bottle that tends to empty itself. Good depth of flavour, a smooth texture and lingering coffee mocha finish add to the enjoyment." Mary Dowey, Wine Editor, The Gloss
'A luscious, toasty wine with a fine tannic frame, good dark currant tones and a fine evolving finish. This is a cuvée to watch.' Tomas Clancy, Wine Correspondent, Sunday Business Post
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Saussignac Dessert Wine Premier Or 2009 (2006/ 2000: sold out)
The saussignac botrytis dessert wine is truly a labour of love. The yield from a hectare of Saussignac is about 25% of the yield the same hectare would deliver of dry white. It is truly exquisite. 
The grapes are hand-picked (sometimes individually) and deliver up a juice that is golden and heavenly. Once fermented a complex set of aromas develop…
Tasting Notes: Golden and unctuous. Honey, passion fruit and a hint of almond on the nose. Notes of honeysuckle and orange blossom. Apricot and passion fruit the palate with an intense, long finish. Our panel of tasters also wrote ‘Outstanding’ & ‘this is a €100 a bottle wine’.
Wine Critics' Comments:
"This is a superstar dessert wine that deserves to be on every Irish wine shop shelf beside the Sauternes and Tokaji. Clean, bright apricot and acacia honey tones with great smoothness, then a classical botrytis cut that is the antithesis of unctuous." Tomas Clancy, Wine Correspondent, Sunday Business Post
Wine Critics' Comments:
‘Chateau Haut Garrigue’s truly delicious white semi-sweet Moelleux is seriously in danger of giving sweet wines a good name.’ Liam Campbell, Wine Editor, The Dubliner
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Methode Traditionelle Quality Sparkling Wine 2009 certified organic grapes
This delicious wine is a favourite with all who ordered it for Christmas. A delicious biscuity sparkling wine made in the traditional method just like they do in champagne with low SO2 and a second fermentation in the bottle to create the bubbles.
Customer Comment: 'We enjoyed your sparkling so much over Christmas please put us down for a couple of cases on your next delivery. Everyone raved about our excellent "Champagne".' Tom Rourke
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Customer Comments
‘Your sémillon sauvignon blanc - excellent, refreshing and so good I’m sorry that we only had the single bottle’ Des, Dublin
‘We have just had Chateau Haut Garrigue sauvignon blanc with a little freshly caught wexford fish ... magnifique!’ Terry and Antoinette, New Ross
‘Your semillon/ sauvignon blanc is my wine of choice now and I am encouraging my local O’Briens to keep it in stock’ Joan, Naas
‘Your sémillon / sauvignon blanc wine tasted great at our dinner last Saturday!’ Paul, Dublin
‘I received my sauvignon blanc and it is lovely. I will be ordering it again.’ June, Rush
‘Superb, a delightful wine and one we will certainly recommend’ Ned and Nuala, Wicklow (about our 2006 Sauvignon blanc)
"I tried your merlot/cab lastnight and it was delicious." Wayne, Vancouver, Canada
"I just wanted to let you know that your wine is really superb." Bernie, Dublin
"We really enjoyed your wine. It was our style, easy to drink and not too heavy." Walter, Dublin
"Enjoyed your wine - very impressed!" Padraic, Dublin
"..Everyone we entertained over the holiday raved about your wine." Tom, Dublin
Why Organic Series
Why Organic? Part 1 Introduction
Why Organic? Part 2 Preservatives
Why Organic? Part 3 Pesticides
Why Organic? Part 4 Weedkill
Why Organic? Part 5 Systemic chemicals to follow in our next quarterly newsletter: click here to get to the sign up form
Why Organic? Why Biodynamic? Part 1 Introduction
Certified organic is the only sure way to keep your grapes for the wine you drink free of chemicals. Many agricultural pesticide, herbicide (weedkill) and fungicide sprays are so toxic they state on the box do not enter the vineyard for 48 hours after spraying. If something is this toxic, you don't want it sprayed on something you are going to eat. Grapes are not washed before they are made into wine!
Look at the photo at right of a vineyard in Aquitaine that is farmed chemically. There is no biodiversity. There is no plant matter on the ground in the vineyard and no hedges or other plants nearby thanks to excessive herbicide use. This is a classic monoculture where pest outbreaks are guaranteed. Not only that, uncovered earth means erosion when rain falls. With organic farming we have a balanced environment with much more biodiversity (photo below of Garrigue taken at the same time as the one above). We have never had a pest outbreak. If we ever did we would treat it with natural means. Rosemary and ferns are both good natural pesticides.
Natural remedy for ants: If you get ants coming into the house put a large sprig of rosemary at their entrance and they will leave. We have high populations of the good bugs like ladybirds that keep the bad guys in check. If there are a few bad guys (eg aphids) around they generally prefer the other plants in the vineyard to the vines. They would only eat the vines if there was nothing else like in the other vineyard where the only green things are the vines.
Why Organic? Why Biodynamic? Part 2 Preservatives
'Preservatif' means condom in French so you can imagine how hard our organic neighbour laughed when I asked how many preservatifs were in his wine. Fortunately not many... Organic wines are lower in sulphur dioxide than conventional wines. Sulphur dioxide is the preservative added to wine to help to conserve it, limiting oxidation. It is the additive that gives you a tight, heavy head and a slowness the morning after enjoying a few too many glasses.
Wines made organically have a higher natural resistance to oxidation. Why? In the process of protecting themselves naturally through the season the vine creates additional elements that a chemically protected vine does not, like producing more resveratrol, the powerful antioxidant found in grape skins. Even more importantly, using chemical fertiliser offers a potassium dose that means the vine lowers the natural acidity in her grapes and hence in the wine. This natural acidity is also a super protector and preservative of the wine. The lower this natural acidity the higher the sulphur dioxide dose needs to be and vice versa. As organic and biodynamic producers we aim to keep our sulphur dioxide dose at half or less than the EU maximum. With higher natural acidity we can do this without risk to the health of our wines. More healthy wine = less headaches for you.
Why Organic? Why Biodynamic? Part 3 Pesticides
The death of a French winegrower in January, at a mere 43 years, officially recognised by the French government as directly due to vineyard pesticides, brings home how important organic is to basic health of the farmer but also to health of the person drinking the result.
More than a quarter of the roughly 220,000 tons of pesticide used in Europe per year is sprayed on to French soil – some 65,000 tons – and a fifth of that amount goes onto French vineyards, despite the fact vineyards only account for five per cent of the country's total crop surface (ref; The Daily Telegraph see http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/wine/8274192/French-winegrowers-warned-over-pesticide-use.html for the full story). We are stunned by this statistic as we have never needed to spray any pesticide on our vines. Why? We have equilibrium with natural habitats for good bugs that keep the bad bugs in check. Equilibrium is key to balance and health in agriculture. Creating excessive yields through chemical fertilisers creates excessive growth that creates a haven for pests and disease. Likewise using weedkill destroys the natural growth and biodiversity that the pests would generally prefer to eat to our precious vines.
What can you do to make a difference? Buy certified organic or locally from someone you know and trust. We welcome visits. When you visit us you see first hand how natural methods benefit our farm and our health but also yours.
Why Organic? Why Biodynamic? Part 4 Weedkill or herbicide
Most conventional farmers use a range of herbicides or weedkill remove all other growth that could be competition to their crop. In some instances the weedkill is used across the entire surface area, other times just around the base of the eg vines. Two types of weedkill are applied: one to kill the plants that are already growing (usually a glyphosate like Roundup) and then another killer chemical (a preemergent herbicide) to stop the seeds from germinating. See the photos alongside part 1.
In this way the only living thing left, in the case of vineyards, is the vines themselves, which makes them the perfect target for pests (since there is nothing else) leading to the need to spray pesticides that are highly carcinogenic right afterwards. With biodiversity all of this is avoided. Yes, there is a bit more labour required to keep the weeds down but it is compensated by the savings of not buying expensive chemicals.
We had an organic dairy farmer from Dorset do a vineyard walking tour with us recently: he had converted to organic because of the conversion aid not for health or scientific reasons but afterwards he realised that all those products he had been buying like chemical fertilisers and chemical herbicides were totally unnecessary! Nature keeps the balance if you respect her. Hear hear! Apart from the direct effects and residues of these products going into our food and water supply a recent study shows that there are many unintended consequences to the likes of glyphosate that we are only beginning to understand (ref; see reuters http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/24/us-monsanto-roundup-idUSTRE71N4XN20110224 for the full story). To protect you and your family demand organic especially for things that are not peelable (like the grapes that go into wine! they are not washed and they are not peeled) (ref; see http://www.organicconsumers.org/school/organicstudy090405.cfm for more on a recent study of kids diets comparing organic to non organic).
Why Organic? Part 5: Systemic chemicals: what are they and why are they used in non-organic food supply? Sign up now to make sure you get this update on our next newsletter
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EARL Chateau Haut Garrigue SIRET (company Registration): 48411928400012 TVA Intracommunautaire: FR47484119284
Vignoble Feely
Details: Flavours of grapefruit and gooseberry enchant the palate following through into a long mineral finish. Enjoy on its own or with foods like monkfish, salmon or shellfish. Only 1100 bottles produced per annum from designated vines. Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée Bergerac Sec. 13% alc vol 750ml