Anne and Gerard Arbeau are the current helm of Famille Arbeau. A winery that extends back to 1873 and nurtures a dizzying amount of varietals from South West France. Geographically they hold an enviable position near the town of Labastide-Saint-Pierre. Two hours north of Toulouse where France is at its narrowest point before the Pyrenean border with Spain they have the climatic influence of, well, everything! With an incredible amount of land under vine Anne and Gerard have vineyards spanning Fronton, Gaillac and Tarn. Here they harness the Mediterranean sun, cooling Atlantic and mountainous breeze and soil that is for the most part alluvial sand and gravel so allowing a nurturing environment for viticulture.

This sister and brother are rightly proud of the scale of operations created by their predecessors. However they also realise that scale can come at some environmental cost. They are relishing the task of a becoming a more environmentally sustainable generation and are in the process of converting the entire estate to organic production. Their approach to winemaking however continues the family tradition of less is more in the cellar. In their own words their approach to winemaking is uncomplicated because they have such good fruit – even more so since reappraising vineyard practices – that they don’t need to overwork what they have.

Le Poulpe Magique Blanc is gently aromatic as well as thirst-quenchingly fresh.  Radical Cassoulet offers the bright juiciness of Braucol with a bracing dash of Cot to give a little structure.

Chateau Coutinel is the “jewel in the crown”. Acquired in 1920 it sits at the heart of Fronton and relishes its position sat on “boulben” a local term for silica rich alluvial soil. This defines bistro wine. Negrette from Coutinel is fully loaded with smokey black tea but still juicy enough to glug your way through an afernoons rugby and bowl of cassoulet.