H&B Nouvelle Vague Take Off
La Nouvelle Vague, “the new wave”, was the term given to Gregory Hecht & François Bannier because of their fresh new approach of winemaking in such an ancient and traditional region of the Midi.
Led by their experiences gathered in other regions and countries, they want to make full of fruit wines, produced from organic grapes, bottled without fining, just slightly filtered.
French wine critics whilst praising their wines, nicknamed them ‘the wine beach boys’ because of their surfer looks. The Nouvelle Vague wine range embraces this image.
Nouvelle Vague Take Off is made without any inputs and added sulfitesso as to preserve the fruity character of 100% Syrah grapes sourced from an organic plot of clay-limestone soil in Saint Chinian.
Early harvesting to keep freshness, along with cold fermentation with very little extraction, helps express all the aromatic potential of Syrah. Ageing in stainless steel vats, away from oxygen, allows the reducing nature of the grape variety to ensure its role as a natural preservative.
A good expression of a Mediterranean style Syrah. Full of dense and juicy berry fruit with a touch of spice and good tannins.
About the Producer
Hecht & Bannier
Maison Hecht & Bannier is a ‘Negociant Eleveur’ dedicated to sourcing and then blending wines from the Mediterrean regions. They started in 2001 with partners Gregory Hecht and François Bannier assembling four cuvées of Southern France appellations.
Convinced that the Roussillon to Provence region has not yet received the international recognition that it deserves for its quality and diverse vineyards, they have expanded their passion for blending and now visit hundreds of producers to select the best juice. Often the grapes come from vineyards in the cooler foothills where it isn’t unusual to see hundred year-old vines.
The goal is to have the H&B label become the bench-mark for wines in a range of appellations, allowing wine-lovers to discover the extraordinary quality and wealth of the region.
Each blend is usually based on 5 to 10 samples from the 15-30 that have been pre-selected; some very good wines are rejected because they do not express H&B’s vision of the appellation. The blend can change between vintages to remain true to each specific geographical origin, while emphasising particularly successful grapes or vineyards in each harvest.
Once the long selection process has come to an end, H&B then begin to create the blends and decide the ‘elevage’ options. The overiding aim is to conserve the typical Mediterranean strength in their wines while preserving balance and vitality for all the appellations produced.
In 2022 they achieved B Corp certification. This international label rewards businesses that aspire to be agents of change and measure their social and environmental impact, accelerating the transition towards a more inclusive, fair, and regenerative economy.
