Atelier des Sources Le Retour Cinsault 2024, Vin de France, Organic

Le Retour is a certified organic Cinsault from Atelier des Sources, the small négociant label of the team behind Domaine Les Deux Cols, who buy grapes from carefully chosen vineyards in the south of France. The fruit comes from bush-trained vines farmed with minimal intervention. The grapes are picked by hand, fully destemmed and fermented in stainless steel, with gentle daily pump-overs during a maceration of about 12 days. The wine is then aged in third-fill Burgundy barrels, so the oak stays in the background, and bottled unfined and unfiltered as a Vin de France.

In the glass it is a light, transparent crimson. The nose is delicate and aromatic, with red fruits, cherry, redcurrant and cranberry, a touch of violets and a hint of autumn leaves. The palate is light to medium-bodied, juicy and vibrant, with a fine texture, delicate tannins, refreshing acidity and a long, crisp finish.

Serve slightly cool, at around 13–15°C; it also takes a light chill well on warm days. It is a versatile red for charcuterie, roast chicken, pork, grilled salmon or tuna, mushroom dishes, roasted Mediterranean vegetables and soft cheeses. Delicious now, it also has the balance to keep for a few years.

Atelier des Sources is a small, quality-focused négociant label created by the team behind Domaine Les Deux Cols in the southern Rhône. Les Deux Cols was started in 2012 by Simon Tyrrell and Charles Derain, later joined by Gerard Maguire, a trio known as the Irish ‘Rhône Rangers’. They began by buying grapes before building up around 12 hectares of organically farmed vines in the north of the Gard. With Atelier des Sources they bring the same light touch to fruit bought from exceptional vineyard sites in the Rhône and Languedoc, working closely with their growers through the year and bringing in the harvest themselves. Grapes are picked by hand into small 13 kg boxes, the reds are fermented in stainless steel and aged in Burgundy barrels and demi-muids, and the aim is wines of clarity, balance and drinkability.