Hey Cru,

The wines of Domaine de Roquemale have built a heckuva following around here. Today's offer is stupidly limited, hence the rare Friday missive. I think this is a DEUCE you'll want to take a flyer on.

Roquemale is an 11 hectare property near Villeveyrac, about 30 minutes from southern French city of Montpellier. The vineyard is appropriately named, a local patois meaning 'bad rocks'. Indeed, a visit to Roquemale yields the visitor a head-scratching experience of wondering why anyone would try to actually grow anything here! In fact, the beautiful viaduct in plain sight of the vineyard, was once used to carry bauxite from a local mine only a kilometer away to the freight yard and ships of the nearby city. 

This part of the Languedoc is called the Grés de Montpellier--a sun-kissed Mediterranean zone that is the heart of the Occitan, or Pays d'Oc. Over the past decade or so there has been a revival here, with young winemakers like Valerie and Dominique leading the way.

When I first visited Valerie Tabaries way back in 2015 she was busy with four guests in her small tasting room and I could tell things weren't going well. Two of the patrons thumbed their noses at virtually everything they tasted, nitpicking this and that, and then feigning disgust when they learned of the prices--8 Euros, 10 Euros. "But where are the 2 Euro wines," they demanded.

Valerie was calm and friendly and explained to her guests that well, good winemaking can't be done on the cheap--bottles, corks, labels, and cardboard boxes all make wine pricier than 2 Euros, and furthermore--its not 1987 anymore!

At the end of the tasting, Valerie politely took her guests to school. She spent an unusual amount of time explaining exactly how she and her husband Dominique did their work--just the two of them, all by hand, no team of employees, no heavy machinery, no magic wand. Farming their 11 hectares was their life, their labor of love, and the star of their family legacy. One doesn't do all that for 2 Euros a bottle and sleep very well at night. 

The customers listened intently, as if being taught a master class in wine economics, and REAL LIFE, and then dutifully walked out with 4 cases of wine.

Class dismissed!

Domaine de Roquemale Mâle 2014, $34

This is the first time Valerie and Dominique have allocated their top wine for us. Mâle is based predominantly in Syrah and is raised in some new oak barrels. It is a dark, brooding, concentrated wine with lots of licorice, chocolate, and dried black fruits. It will benefit from an hour open in a big decanter.

Domaine de Roquemale Lema 2014, $25

This bottling comes from old vine parcels of Grenache and Syrah, with a splash of Cinsault mixed in for color and brightness. It is a wonderfully concentrated and somewhat rustic wine that is ready to drink but will perform well for 5-7 more years.

Your Pre-Arrival price is just $39.00,

for the DEUCE

Valerie and Dominique's wines are unavailable anywhere else in the US at this time. And after seeing how they run their tasting room, I think I understand why!

There's just not much wine to go around. Only 60 bottles of each. So you can try them both, I thought wrapping them into a 2-pack made good sense. Regularly at $59, but just $39 ($19.50 average per bottle) when you grab the pair.

I expect Lema and Mâle to arrive in our warehouse around March 15th, 2017. To order please simply reply to this email with your request, "DEUCE", "3x DEUCE" or something like that. Or, click the photos or link above to read more and order online.

Cheers!

Dan