Rié and Hirofumi Shijo came to France from Japan independently but met and fell in love in wine school in Beaune. Rié went on to work in Chambolle-Musigny with the great Frédéric Mugnier and he spent five years at Domaine de Chassorney. When the time came that they felt ready to make their own wine they had to look outside of Burgundy to find vineyards that they could afford. They purchased 3.5 hectares of vines planted with 50 year-old grenache vines in granite soils in the hills above Collioure in the Roussillon.

They called it Pedres Blanques which means “white rocks” in Catalan. The vineyards are farmed organically. The vines are just over the Mediterranean waters on steep terraced vineyards high enough to frequently be in strong winds which maintain dryness and air-circulation. The vines are neither pressured by frost nor fungal infection and rarely see even organic treatments. The harvests are carried out by hand and the wines go through a whole-cluster fermentation with indigenous yeasts before aging in large old barrels for six months.

The 2022 Colliour is an ethereal and light grenache. The palate shows grapefruit and lavender and lovely small red berries. Black tea and iron and gorgeous edges of sous bois hold the aromatics bundled. This wine speaks convincingly of quality that good grenache has and is especially moving given the unappreciated location that Pedres Blanques came to rest and how appreciated the wine has fast become.

The integrity of your wine is our highest concern. Orders placed during the summer months will be put on hold and fulfilled as soon as temperatures permit. Learn more here.