La Croix Gratiot

The house was born of an uncommon coincidence: father and daughter decided to become winemakers at the same time. Yves Ricome began bottling his own wine at La Croix Gratiot in 2005, and his daughter Anaïs runs it today with him alongside.

The vineyard lies next to Montagnac, a few kilometres from the Mediterranean, and the picpoul grows on loam and limestone. Thirty-five hectares.

What Anaïs did on taking over runs against the current: instead of buying more land she reduced the planted area, so as to work what remained more closely. Almost every winery grows; this one chose to shrink.

She farms in conversion to organic and on biodynamic lines, with biodiversity as a stated aim.

After a spell in New Zealand she planted pinot noir, a variety hardly seen in this part of southern France.