Domaine Le Petit Marand, in Charente-Maritime, at Saint-Bonnet-sur-Gironde

This estate looks out over the Gironde Estuary, as the farm hamlet sits slightly above it — a sharpshooter’s rifle-shot away — much like the clay-limestone terroir that defines the property.

Overseen by the Papin family, father and sons, this “western” terroir has taken off on a high-precision, organic ballistic trajectory toward a range of multi-varietal wines that stray from the region’s beaten paths, which tend to favour Ugni Blanc and Merlot.

Fabrice, one of the two sons, brings top-flight international experience from Hong Kong with Lafite Rothschild on the commercial distribution side, and has been able to strike the right note in crafting the finest possible cuvées from this marvellous estate, which was once rather classical in style. Thanks to his brother and his father, Fabrice — a shrewd musketeer at the helm — has been able to map out the ideal potential market segment to develop across the 11 hectares of vines radiating from east to west and north to south.

Their great passion for experimentation has led them, since 2015, to produce Bacchic head-spinners quite out of the ordinary.

I’ve chosen three that brilliantly inspired the Wine4Melomanes poetic experience during my recent visit, where I was invited to celebrate the estate’s new wine-tourism momentum, built on the ecological planting of a wide and especially mouth-watering variety of fruit trees and plants: varieties of lemons, tomatoes and more.

As the photos show, left to right on the slider, the tasting saga — originally planned for a Saturday morning — turned out to be a dizzying surprise.

Beautifully coordinated by a talented Asian chef, by Justina, Fabrice’s partner, and by a team attentive to every detail in every role, the future of wine tourism in this walled garden in front of the main house — with its fleshy fig tree at the far end — promises an exceptional welcome, and the proof is already there.

All ages and nationalities were present for the occasion, Fabrice’s address book being a rather well-stocked one.

My friend Amar Kabouche, a sommelier with a discerning palate, who had invited me that day, handled the musical programming with taste from morning to night. We were even treated to his delicate playing on the transverse flute to accompany his musical selections and the ardour of the swinging guests, in a swinging-doors saloon atmosphere — “Luky fling-osore Luke” — as bottles were opened with ever greater generosity, the whole thing increasingly resembling a grand Tour de France of great crus at a frenzied tempo.

A great many bold dishes, each as refined and enticing as the last, were served over several hours in flawless, convivial summer weather, where a whole lamb raised on the estate, roasted méchoui-style, regaled us with its goodness.

The first

is a Pinot Noir grown on clay-limestone, named Le Petit Marand Saint Auguste 2022 IGP Atlantique, aged in Burgundian oak barrels. It coos with aromas of fresh fern, fine notes of new leather, smoky black fruit, a touch of the animal, and an appealing, sharply drawn vivacity that reveals itself as the wine breathes.

A sensual, masculine emotion rises from this atypical nectar born of the Charentes region, once decanted for a minimum of two hours before tasting.

Wine4Melomanes pairing suggests a voice that underlines this quality.

I chose that of the British band Arctic Monkeys — The Car, released in 2022, where the wrenching closing electric guitar and the finely chiselled string arrangements marry with equanimity the combined, whirling flavours of the wine.

The second

is Une Histoire de Grenache 2021, Le Petit Marand IGP Atlantique, with a whirling, iodine-tinged nose of cherries and fresh pomegranate, while its enticing palate borders on violet, white pepper and salinity, with an airy, feminine insolence.

The Wine4Melomanes pairing reveals a swirling original composition created by the young English artist JAB for Game, Set, (Checkmate) in 2021.

The syncopated vibraphone, with its various fleeting orchestrated lines, mirrors the sapid, limpid vigour of this zenith philtre.

The third

is a Chardonnay EXtraOrdinaire 2020, Le Petit Marand IGP Atlantique, where the musical euphony of the English artist Sandra-Mae Lux, with her aubade “I’m Still Here” from 2020, echoes the galvanising, fresh and buttery opulence of this engaging dance of white fruits, crowned with a sublime bite, with notes haloed in quince jelly and a few chalky sensations lapped up in the Burgundian manner.

A very complete range of refined estate wines joins these three favourites:

https://www.lepetitmarand.fr/les-vins

https://www.lepetitmarand.fr/ou-me-trouver

FB-W4M-September 2026