Recerca lies between Vingrau and Paziols in Corbières, south-west France. Created in 2018 by Laurent Pujol and Jess Albero, Recerca, from the Catalan word for ‘research’, focuses on well-balanced yet defined cuvées in an arid landscape of olive trees, vines and rock. Jess and her late husband, Chris, discovered natural wine in Paris, opening their own bar in 2009 in Les Indigenes, Perpignan. Here they met Laurent, who describes the bar as a revolution of flavour and sharing; a social place that winemakers frequented, full of generosity, inspiration and new ideas. In 2015 Zulu wines began, with the vision to collaborate with local winemakers (Tom Lubbe from Matassa, Gille Troullier, Sébastien Agelet from De Mena) and use négoce grapes to create exciting cuvées. Some years later Jess and Laurent began to experiment further with vinification, making small batches of their own wines. Slowly this led to a cellar, a small tractor, and to the founding of Recerca, with vineyards in Vingrau and Paziols formed mostly of calcareous clay and schist. The vines range from approximately 6 - 70 years and include Macabeu, Muscat Petits Grains, Muscat of Alexandria, Mourvedre and three types of Grenache.
The wines are based around a search for harmony, often achieved through the blending of different grapes — Laurent describes the process of assemblage as similar to music making and mixing, and Version is a wonderful example of this process. All of Recerca’s white and red varieties are gathered together, crushed in whole bunches and macerated for 4 days before aging in fibreglass for 8 months. Well-balanced and with a delightful softness, this maceration makes for a serious light red. Sour cherries and thyme on the nose with low tannins, medium body and more colour than the ’22 vintage, it goes well with beetroot, rocket and freshly ground black pepper. If you’re into Ploussard from Jura, this one’s for you.