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- Winemaker: Christophe Avi
- Grape Variety: 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon
- Farming: Biodynamic
- Vinification: Stainless Steel
From our 2022 Bottle Club Notes:
Mary Taylor | Merlot & Cabernet Sauvignon | Buzet, Sud-Ouest, France | 2016
It's not often that we at Decant get to recognize other business women in our wine clubs. We frequently discuss female growers, farmers, and winemakers. But it's rare that a bottle selection in the club allows us to recognize the entrepreneur who brought that wine to our table. That is, until now.
Mary Taylor is a woman on a mission to break down the barriers that exist between creators and consumers in our industry, and we are HERE FOR IT. A veteran of the European wine industry for over two decades, Mary saw a void in the larger global market of packaging wines in a clean, straightforward way that made the labels decipherable to the average consumer. Questions like 'What grape is it?', 'Who made it?,' and, 'Where on a map is this?' can all be answered when simply eyeing these bottles.
What's more, Mary isn't simply repackaging some mass-produced mystery wine from factory fermenters. She's out on the hunt for family-producers whose wine might never have ever left their villages without the assistance of a small-business owner who is capitalized, licensed and ready to help them get their juice out to the world. In each region she travels to, she seeks micro-vintners who are making wines true to their varietal and terroir, exactly like you'd find if you traveled to these villages and brought your own bottle to fill at the winery. It's a nod to old school European wine consumption, which is dying out as younger generations leave the rich traditions of the countryside behind for life in the big cities. Mary believes that both micro-producers and consumers can benefit from her connecting them with one another.
This month's bottling of Buzet is a perfect example! An appellation that we haven’t seen in years, especially outside of France. Buzet is located in the greater landscape of the Sud-Ouest, outside the boundaries of Bordeaux. They are historically less known than Bordeaux wines, as are all wines from the Southwest region; the 100 Years War and the British occupation of Aquitaine favored Bordeaux from a tax standpoint, leaving Buzet and its neighbors unsullied by the British.
This wine is made by Christophe Avi, whose great-grandfather founded the estate Domaine du Bois du Simon in 1929. It is a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, fermented in stainless steel, and bottled young. It's the perfect bottle for cold nights and pretty much anything cooked in the dutch oven that you never use. -Simi Grewal