Domaine de Bon Augure Joncs-Cella 2024

Inviting nose of spice, white peach and blossom. In the mouth, granny smith apples and comice pear lifted by lemon zest. A beautiful weighty mouthfeel, succulent and rich with a long mineral finish and hints of fenugreek and kafir.  

Country: France  Region: Languedoc-Roussillion Grapes: Petit Mansang, Chardonnay

ABV: 12.5% Bottle Size: 750ml 

From the borders of Hérault and Aveyron at 600m altitude from the old Benedictine monastery of Joncels, comes this superb wine, described by Jancis Robinson as ‘having striking purity and intense energy’. 

By the end of the 14th century the bishop of Béziers had been ordered to ‘restore monastic discipline and address lax practices among the monks’. The Abbey of rather undisciplined monks was wound down and sold off during the French Revolution and the vineyards were abandoned.

Started in 2013 on the same site, Domaine de Bon Augure now has nearly nine hectares of vines, planted on steep hillsides by a farmer from the village of Joncels in the early 1990s. Six are Chardonnay, one Petit Manseng and one Pinot Noir, to which are added a few rows of Grenache Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, and Petite Arvine.

The wine takes its name from the Abbey where its Latin name is Joncs-cella, meaning ‘the source of the Reeds’. 

Soil is iron-rich clay on a limestone scree base, vines are 20 years old. Hand harvested, barrel-fermented with ambient yeasts before aging for 12 months in new barrels. Bottled with only a very small dose of sulphites, 90% Chardonnay, 10% Petit Manseng.