𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘥𝘥 5% 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘉𝘳𝘢𝘶𝘤𝘰𝘭-𝘛𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘵-𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘥…

They’ve not been easy these last few vintages…and as well as for Château Barouillet, 2025 is proving challenging for all growers in Bergerac and the Southwest after a series of complicated years…

Contrasts is a hundred or so natural growers making wines with extremely limited doses of SO2, in line with the standards of the ‘Vin Méthode Nature’ label : 30 mg/l total SO2 for reds and 40 for whites MAX. Et basta!

What makes wine so fascinating is that it reflects both the terroir and an era. The practices and techniques of our grandparents were challenged by our parents, who were challenged by our ideas in turn, and soon, we will be challenged by our children – such is the life of an estate over the years and even centuries.

Thanks to delicate vinification techniques, our grape varieties have been enjoying a new lease of life over the past decade.

There are not many places in France where winemaking is so demanding. The great Basque terroirs will be present at Contrastes!”

Sometimes, one of the best forms of climate insurance is to have a small plot of vines which do not rise in alcohol and produce very fine, light wines.

In the Southwest, we are lucky to have old cranks who open the way for lots of extravagances, and it’s often here that you find new paths of exploration.

In the Southwest, we know how to make godly wines, immortals, princes in short trousers at 20 years of age.

Harvesting by hand brings a human touch to our wines. It means opening our estates to people we’d probably never meet…

The image attached to us is sometimes hard to shake off, but winemakers from other regions adore us!

The Contrastes Wine Fair 2025 is back…save the date! 9/10 November in Toulouse. Hope to see you there!

“The Southwest is the greatest undiscovered wine region of France: a cluster of often remote appellations, many so small that it’s hard for them to make a wave in the market. They export a bit here, they export a bit there, they sell to the locals – and then all the wine is gone, before the world at large has had a chance to wake up and take notice” Andrew Jefford, Wine Scholar Guild, February 2024

80 growers, dozens of local grape varieties, 17 different appellations: Contrastes! is a voyage from Bergerac to the Basque country via and the Aveyron, the Tarn and the Garonne and the Lot to discover pure, authentic wines with a sense of place.