Mas Bécha, Nyls, in the Aspres hills of Roussillon, a few kilometres from Perpignan with the Pyrenees and Catalan border not far behind. Charles Perez took over in 2008 and has been farming organically ever since, certified from 2011. He’s a proper artisan vigneron, a hands-in-the-soil kind of guy working garrigue-covered land on clay and marble-pebbled soils, with no pesticides and no chemicals in the vineyard or the cellar.
The labels are one of my favourite details. Every wine is dedicated to a member of Charles’s family, and every label carries a portrait, so the range feels like a family album. Wines with faces, and not in a gimmicky way. It makes the whole thing feel personal, as it should.
Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre make up the Classique red, a juicy, Mediterranean blend that’s ripe but balanced and brilliant with lamb. The white is Grenache Blanc and Vermentino in stainless steel, fresh and herbal. Then there’s Barrique for something more serious, Oh My Grenache for Grenache in full cry, and La Bergerie du Camps de Nyils, a silky, perfumed, properly serious wine that Decanter gave 94 points. Muscat de Rivesaltes rounds out the range for those after something sweet.
Mas Bécha has been described as a key player in the revival of Roussillon wines, and I can see why. Concentrated but fresh, generous but never heavy, and priced like the rest of the region doesn’t yet get the credit it deserves.
Roussillon is one of France’s most exciting and underappreciated regions. Mas Bécha is one of the reasons why.
Mas Bécha, Nyls, in the Aspres hills of Roussillon, a few kilometres from Perpignan with the Pyrenees and Catalan border not far behind. Charles Perez took over in 2008 and has been farming organically ever since, certified from 2011. He’s a proper artisan vigneron, a hands-in-the-soil kind of guy working garrigue-covered land on clay and marble-pebbled soils, with no pesticides and no chemicals in the vineyard or the cellar.
The labels are one of my favourite details. Every wine is dedicated to a member of Charles’s family, and every label carries a portrait, so the range feels like a family album. Wines with faces, and not in a gimmicky way. It makes the whole thing feel personal, as it should.
Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre make up the Classique red, a juicy, Mediterranean blend that’s ripe but balanced and brilliant with lamb. The white is Grenache Blanc and Vermentino in stainless steel, fresh and herbal. Then there’s Barrique for something more serious, Oh My Grenache for Grenache in full cry, and La Bergerie du Camps de Nyils, a silky, perfumed, properly serious wine that Decanter gave 94 points. Muscat de Rivesaltes rounds out the range for those after something sweet.
Mas Bécha has been described as a key player in the revival of Roussillon wines, and I can see why. Concentrated but fresh, generous but never heavy, and priced like the rest of the region doesn’t yet get the credit it deserves.
Roussillon is one of France’s most exciting and underappreciated regions. Mas Bécha is one of the reasons why.
