Philippe Wies | La Petite Baigneuse

Originally a market garden farmer of heirloom vegetables and rare breed chickens in the Ardeche, Philippe packed up his bags with his young family and set sail on an 18-month trip of the northern hemisphere. On his return to dry land, he came to find himself in Maury, near Perpignan, on the Mediterranean coast, with a newfound desire to produce wine.

In 2007, he acquired an estate of 8.5 hectares, an isolated parcel of wind-swept vines surrounded by marine fragrances that convinced him to stay on dry land for good. Now totalling 13 hectares, Philippe’s vineyard is at the highest altitude in the Maury appellation, providing extraordinary freshness and ventilation, and a stunning view of the sea on the horizon.

Having built a new cellar (and concrete tanks) with his own hands in 2016, in the centre of his vineyards, Philippe designed everything to operate by gravity—all the fruit ferments with natural yeasts at ambient temperature. Except for the occasional incorporation of carbonic maceration, winemaking remains consistent from vintage to vintage, with all wines fermenting in concrete, before having the whites moved to stainless steel for élevage and the reds to old barrels and foudres. Wines are without exception, unfined, unfiltered and without added sulphur.

Philippe now puts much of his focus into creating a symbiosis by using vegetal cover and trees within the vines to optimize the maintenance and hydration of the vineyard. He continues to plant cherry, olive, apricot, maple, and almond trees to make his vineyard a true ecosystem.

To celebrate both Philippe’s recent visit to the UK and our recent visit to his cellar, in the centre of the highest parcel of vines in the Maury appellation, we have the pleasure of offering several vintages, some of which we held for the occasion, ranging from 2012-2020 for a limited period.