Situated in Banyuls in the Roussillon, at less than a kilometer from the sea, La Rectorie (7 hectares) was passed down to the Parcé bothers. Having returned to the family property in the 1980s, Thierry and Marc extended their Banyuls production to that of very high quality dry white wines. Work in the vineyard wears the peasant traces of their great-grandmother, Thérèse's roots (animal draught cultivation, manual harvests, use of local grape varieties, etc.). Nowadays, it is managed by Marc and Thierry Parcé, for whom the age of the vines, the use of the ‘original' grape varieties and the controlled yields (20 to 25hl/hectare) are the key to successful vinifications. The domain bottles around 80,000 bottles every year. Most of the production is centered the vinification of Collioures rouges, but La Rectorie also produces white wines as well some Banyuls (15% of production). The wines are not fined.

This rich, complex red wine is a precise blend of 60% Grenache Noir with 30% Grenache Gris and 10% Carignan. This cuvée has the particularity of being vinified using the Solera method. This involves stacking several barrels on top of each other, the lowest being called Solera and the highest Criadera. The lowest row, close to the ground, is called the Solera. The row above the Solera is called the first Criadera. The row above the first Criadera is called the second Criadera, and this stacking can go up to eight levels. This ageing process is oxidative, which means that the barrels are never full, to leave a fairly large surface area of the wine in contact with the air.  At the end of the ageing process, the wine is racked from the Solera, which contains the oldest wine. It is from these lower barrels that the wine for bottling is taken, without ever emptying the barrels completely. The wine removed is replaced by wine from the two barrels above. And so on until the highest point is reached, at which time young wine is added. This means there are always several vintages in each Criadera.
The almost coppery amber colour reveals an expressive nose characterised by scents of roasted almond and hazelnut. The round, complex palate reveals delicious aromas of caramel, leading to a rich, flavoursome finish. This cuvée will stand the test of time beautifully.