We have subscribed to ‘Decanter’ magazine from day one – it really is the world’s best wine magazine. And it was while pursuing an issue that contained a Vacqueyras tasting (an example of which we lacked at the time), we noticed that the winner came from Font Sarade…and there was no UK importer. Easy.

The Burle family’s estate is quite a sizeable entity – 35 hectares is not that small (the Northern Rhône appellation of Cornas is only 90 ha). Grapes used to get sold off in bulk, since the cuverie was not big enough to handle what would have been quite a large production. But cue a new cellar, and the return of Burle daughter Claire, back from her wine-making travels in Australia. With dad Bernard still involved, they are now able to bottle a lot more wine under their own name, and yet still retain their previous flexibility (which is a great fall-back to have, especially if cash-flow gets squeezed). Faultless combination.