This sixth release from Hiro and Rie Shoji is just exceptional. Slightly finer than last year the nose is ebullient with aromas of fresh chocolate dipped cherries, flowers and the mineral schist that the vines are grown in. It's captivating sensually and very uplifting. The mouthfeel is all silk and lace despite it's concentration and energy. Vitality and precision frame the finish. This is a wine that is a pleasure now but will keep for some years in a good cellar too.  

When anyone thinks about the southern French region of Roussillon it is probably not about what’s happening in Roussillon today, which is a revolutionary shift toward fresh, mineral dry wines, some of France’s very best.

Rié et Hirofumi Shoji are the exciting new talent in Collioure, the appellation in the Roussillon that shares boundaries with Banyuls but is for dry and not fortified wines.

I first met Hiro when he was working in Burgundy for Fred Cossard, one of the best winemakers anywhere in my opinion and certainly you could not do better for a mentor in the production of artisanal, naturally made wine.

Hiro would often take me through the tasting when Fred was away and his sensitivity and curiosity was evident back then. When, after 5 years, he told me that he was leaving to pursure his dream I was happy for him and I knew that he would make brilliant wine.

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