Méditerranée Abbaye de Lérins Saint Salonius Lérina SARL 2013

Lérins Abbey is on Saint Honorat island, which is one of the Lérins islands in the famous Bay of Cannes. This island has been devoted to monastic life for sixteen centuries. There is currently a community of about twenty monks who, in addition to their life of prayer, tend a vineyard and produce very high quality wines that have gained a reputation beyond France's borders. The vines grow in rich, clayey soil, surrounded by a mixed forest containing eucalyptus and olive trees that are several hundred years old. The abbey produces several wines. Cuvée Saint Pierre is a blend of Clairette and Chardonnay. Two red wines are also available for sale: Saint Honorat and Saint Saveur; both are made from old Syrah vines, with Saint Saveur also being aged in new wood after vinification. Lérins Abbey has produced several "cuveés de prestige" for some years: Saint-Césaire, a Chardonnay, Saint-Lambert, a Mourvèdre, and Saint-Salonius, which is predominantly Pinot Noir. All three wines have received critical praise.

A daring gamble from the Lérins Abbey monks which has more than paid off; cultivating the great Burgundy varietal Pinot Noir on the Mediterranean coast is by no means traditional, but the resulting wine is fantastically fresh and aromatically intense.