TUTTI FRUTTI ANANAS
Dr’ain Dr’ain 2019
Roussillon, France
A beautiful expression of Grenache vinified in the cellar at Les 9 Caves in Banyuls by the legendary Burgundian winemaker, Dominique Derain. With silky smooth, black fruits and a pronounced mineral imprint from the pure schist, this pairs a Mediterranean accent with Burgundian finesse to offer something truly unique. Just a case made it to the UK, so don’t sleep on this.
Grenache
ABOUT THE PRODUCER
Tutti Frutti Ananas is a collaboration that sees Manuel of Vinyer de la Ruca team up with his friend Francesco Pesci of Les nes Ailés to make the kind of wines they like drinking by the Mediterranean down in Banyuls-sur-Mer.
The guys farm a small plot of Syrah, Grenache, Carignan and Mourvèdre planted over granite next to the Pedres Blanques vineyard in El Rimbau, high in the hills above Collioure and also purchase small amounts of organic Vermentino and Grenache Gris planted over sand, schist and quartz from a grower closer to the village itself. They make the wines together in Les 9 Caves, a cooperative cellar they share in an old garage in the town’s centre. The wines ferment and age in large concrete vats and are bottled young, brimming with life.
Under their own labels, they each farm old bush vines planted on steep slopes over pure schist. In this arid climate, yields are painfully low and the resulting wines are powerful and intense, often requiring careful ageing to show their true pedigree. The idea here is to do something a little different and as the name suggests the wines are vibrant, easygoing and most importantly, incredibly delicious.