It has been over two decades since Farr Vintners first introduced Vin Doux Naturel to our customers. These old, rare wines have offered exceptional value for money given their age, reliably delivering outstanding quality in the glass for collectors and on special occasions. As Neal Martin writes, "no other category of wine offers such a combination of deliciousness, complexity, history and affordability. Treat yourself...while you still can."
The production of these wines makes little financial sense. From the same grapes as Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the fruit is picked, then fortified part way through fermentation (a process called mutage) to about 16 or 17 degrees alcohol, leaving some sweetness. They can then be aged in glass demi-johns in a warm - sometimes outdoor - environment for up to two years. Finally, they are left in large barrels for decades ahead of bottling. Producers rarely ever work or even live long enough to see the wines they make reach the market.
As a result these wines are dying out. New generations have eschewed this process in favour of still wines that can be sold within 12 months of harvest, understandably keen for a more sustainable business model. This means that many of these wines will simply not exist in the future.
Though these wines are ever harder to source, we have an incredible selection of 50 vintages available going all the way back to 1930. Of particular interest should be the big anniversary or birthday bottlings - 1955, 1965, 1975 and 1985 - highlighted below. These wines are all not only superb value for their vintages but are also guaranteed to be very good, something hard to find particularly in 1975 and 1965.
As Neal concluded in his most recent tasting of these wines: "Excellent. Did I mention how these wines represent incredible value? I did? Well, no harm in repeating it.” Make sure to stock up before they disappear for good.
Our vast selection if vintages are all of excellent quality and can be bought by the bottle, rather than the case. Noble Rot currently list 40 vintages by the glass at their two London restaurants; those curious to sample the wines should make a reservation now and look forward to finishing their meal with a birth-year vintage.
We have relaxed our minimum order rules so that customers can try odd bottles of these amazing wines. Most can be bought by the single bottle as long as at least 3 are purchased at any one time.
