The vineyards of Domaine of the Bee are located deep in Cathar country in southern France in a glorious wind-swept valley that leads from Perpignan to the Pyrenees. Our particular plots of ancient vines are close to the village of Maury, which is overlooked by Queribus, one of the most spectacular of the Cathar castles whose vertiginous 800 year-old walls defy belief.

La Coume de Roy

Size: approx 1.4 ha productive Grapes: Mostly Grenache Noir, but with 15-20% Carignan, and some vines of Grenache Gris and the odd white variety Age: Probably older than 80 years This is the first block that we fell in love with, and it really is an old one, with an incredibly low yield. The soils are the classic black schist of Maury, and the flavour of the grapes at harvest time is incredible.

Bac de Genievres

Size: 1.2 ha Grapes: Apart from one small corner, this is pretty much 100% Grenache Noir Age: Around 40-50 years old There is a rare seam of limestone running along the Bac de Genievres, which brings a touch of freshness and minerality to the wine. Being in the main valley, it can get quite windy up here, and sometimes the Grenache flowers do not set properly, resulting in very few grapes.

La Roque

Size: 1.0 ha Grapes: 100% Carignan Noir Age: 60-70 years old A wonderful, isolated block, surrounded by garrigue - the wild thorny scrub full of rosemary bushes and fennel plants (see video below). We were delighted to find this a couple of years ago, as old Carignan vines are hard to come by, and they produce fantastic blackberry-laden, deep, richly fruity wines. Please forgive the imprecision about the age of many of these blocks, but before a certain date when all of the vineyards were recorded on maps, most of the estimations of a vineyard's age are based on the memories of ageing vignerons who can remember their grandfather planting them.