Founded in 2005 by Philippe Gayral, Muse is a distinctive Roussillon house devoted to preserving old Vins Doux Naturels. For over twenty years, its founder has been scouring family cellars, estates and co-operatives in search of long-forgotten Rivesaltes, Banyuls and Maury. An approach guided by a spirit of curiosity and a determination to safeguard a winegrowing heritage at risk of being lost forever.
Every batch undergoes careful tasting, followed by independent laboratory analysis. The origin, traceability and history of the wines are carefully verified before bottling and release to importers, wine merchants and specialist distributors. These bottlings are sourced in particular from demi-muids, foudres or glass demijohns, vessels that foster the oxidative maturation of Vins Doux Naturels.
Today, co-managed with his daughter, Muse draws on the expertise of Philippe Gayral. The L’Archiviste brand encapsulates this mission: to catalogue, tell the story of and pass on back-vintages, sometimes drawn from an estate’s last remaining stocks. The range delights with time‑mellowed wines, offering notes of walnut, candied fruit, coffee and rancio. Muse doesn’t make the wines: it keeps them from being forgotten.

Enter the world of Roussillon fortified wines with this bottle of mature Banyuls. The grape varieties used to produce this wine grew in a Mediterranean climate, drawing the nutrients necessary for their development from soils consisting of schists and marl.
To create this wine, fermentation of the red wine was stopped with a neutral alcohol containing 96% alcohol after a few ’ays' maceration. This method ensures that the wine retains a good quantity of sugar, hence the term ‘sweet’ wine. The wine was then stored in oak casks for several years, or even decades, until it was bottled.
In the glass, the ruby-red wine reveals itself as dense, intense, and thick. The wine displays an extremely rich, complex and varied fragrance. Notes of cooked fruit, dried fruit, cocoa, coffee and caramel rise from the glass. This persistent wine displays a surprising freshness that brings drive and excellent ageing potential.