This rare wine results from the long tradition of the Puig and Bailbé families, who would reserve their best Rivesaltes vintages for future generations. From the Roussillon plains, under the auspices of Mount Canigou and the nearby Mediterranean Sea, this wine was produced from old-vine Grenache noir and was aged for nearly 30 years in ancient cement tank prior to bottling in 2023.

A singular expression of land, sea and sun, this wine is remarkably vibrant, etched with notes of dried fig and caramelized orange, cocoa powder, tobacco leaf and roasted nuts. Elegant and complex, showing great finesse rather than native power, its lengthy finish is a testament to the patience and wisdom of both wine and family. Enjoy on its own—it needs no accompaniment—or with nutty, summer pasture (alpage) mountain cheeses. Once opened, it will keep well for several weeks.

keeps until 2050
(50-65ºF)

keeps 2-3 weeks
(55-64ºF)

2 oz. pour
(55-59ºF)

About Château Las Collas

With vintages of old Rivesaltes spanning nearly 90 years still resting in ancient cement tank, Château Las Collas is both a study in contrasts and an estate which defies expectation, its winemaking traditions harkening back to the early 20th century, borne equally of great caution and grand ambition.

The long, quiet history of this fourth-generation estate begins with Pierre Puig and his purchase of Mas St-Luc in Passa, on the Roussillon plains known as ‘Les Aspres’, in 1934. Vineyards in this locale date from the 17th century; in the late 1880s, production from the property served the Violet brothers and Caves Byrrh in nearby Thuir. With the establishment of the Rivesaltes appellation in 1936, M. Puig continued to sell most of his wine to Byrrh and later to other negociants ‘en vrac’ but also began the long tradition that still defines what eventually became Château Las Collas, that of holding back wines from its most exceptional vintages—as liquid ‘insurance policies’—for succeeding generations. Son-in-law Nöel Bailbé continued to make wine at Mas St-Luc through the 1960s and 70s until his son Jacques assumed duties in 1979. It was then that production shifted north to Thuir and Las Collas, which Puig had purchased in 1950.

Today, Château Las Collas continues to be administered by Jacques Bailbé and his family: wife Adeline and daughters Emilie, Florence and Marie-Clothilde. The vineyards at Mas St-Luc (now Mas Désiré) have been given over to traditional Catalan olive varieties, but the old vintages continue to age quietly in its ancient cellar while production now comes from the old-vine Grenache noir and argile-calcaire vineyards of Las Collas. With 28-hectares under vine, much of its young wine continues to be sold locally or to the negociant, maintaining the patient and tempered approach that has defined the Puig and Bailbé families—and its historic Rivesaltes—for generations. Full details

About Rivesaltes AOP

Rivesaltes is one of three great traditional fortified Vin Doux Naturels appellations of France, along with Banyuls and Maury. Its territory covers much of Roussillon and encompasses a panoply of altitudes, aspects, and soils, including limestone, granite, gneiss, argile-calcaire, and all manner of schists.

Not to be confused with Muscat de Rivesaltes, Rivesaltes is produced with a variety of white or red grapes: Grenache blanc, Grenache gris, Macabeu, and Grenache noir are the most common.

Subsequent elevage can either be brief, bottling during the year following harvest to preserve its fresh fruit, or extended, with wines aged a minimum of three years oxidatively—and in some instances, much longer—prior to bottling. Depending on the grapes employed, this oxidative style can be referred to as either Ambré or Tuilé. These are often regarded as the most traditional—and the most exciting—wines of the Rivesaltes appellation. The rarest and most evolved expressions are sometimes labeled Rivesaltes Rancio, in which the wines develop complex, umami-like flavor profiles due to an elevage that might extend decades with little or no temperature control—indoors or outdoors, in glass demijohn and ancient barrels—and minimal ‘topping-up’.