to homepage to main navigation to main content to contact form to search form

Massena / Jaysen Collins

Dan Standish and Jaysen Collins were college friends, and in the late 1990s they decided to put their talents together to produce wine. Recently, Jaysen Collins has taken charge of the "Massena" project on his own.The grapes are purchased from growers in Greenock, Kalimna and Koonunga Hill in the northwest Barossa Valley.

They are always very old plots and the yields are naturally tiny, but the grapes have an unequalled concentration and complexity. Despite the scorching dry summers, no irrigation is used (a method known as 'dry farming'). The Midnight Run, their first wine, was initially conceived as a wine for family and friends. Its name was inspired by their journeys between Barossa Valley and Clare Valley--during harvest they had to move from one to the other at night and it was then that they had the idea of working together. That blend was based on Grenache from vines over 120 years old. The remainder was Shiraz, Cinsault and Mataro (Mourvedre) in the style of the great Chateauneuf-du-Pape. 

The Shiraz grapes for The Eleventh Hour come from a revered, if low yielding, plot in Greenock which was destined to be uprooted and replanted because no one was prepared to pay a higher price for the low yield. The name means 'the last minute', the two friends having saved these ancient Shiraz vines, in extremis, by blocking the bulldozers that had come to dig them up. Jaysen lets vinification take place naturally using indigenous yeasts without intervention. The style of Massena's wines is relatively elegant for the area. That doesn't mean that they have renounced the power and aromatic exuberance of the region, but a certain restraint and control over extraction bring both smoothness and tasting pleasure.

Producer

Domaine Marcel Couturier

Domaine Marcel Couturier

Founded by Marcel Couturier with his first vintage in 2005, this small estate has made a name for itself. The winery is located in the commune of Fuissé in the southernmost part of Burgundy, with stunning views of the village of Loché, Mâcon and the great plain of Bresse.

Read more
G. & J. Guillerault / Sebastian Fargette

G. & J. Guillerault / Sebastian Fargette

Gilles Guillerault and Sébastien Fargette are based in Crézancy-en-Sancerre, a few kilometres west of Sancerre, in the Centre-Loire region. A lovely hilly landscape where vineyards alternate with charming villages. With around 2400 hectares of vineyards, Sancerre is a rather small wine-growing region. Only two grape varieties are cultivated, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir.

Read more
Domaine des Pères de l'Eglise

Domaine des Pères de l'Eglise

In 1933, the winegrowers and wine merchants of Châteauneuf-du-Pape were the first to impose quality rules relating to the cultivation and production of wines that would bear the name Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The geographic definition of the cultivation area, along with the other regulations, is still in force today, in order to guarantee the wine quality for connoisseurs. The Gradassi family of the Domaine des Pères de l’Église is following the tradition, but with the fresh impetus provided by the young fourth generation.

Read more