North of the River Aude, between the towns of Carcassone and Narbonne, lies an appellation known as Minervois. It is in the Languedoc, an area invaded and settled by the Romans who planted vines and named the area after Minerva, the goddess of wisdom. When the Romans departed the vineyards came under the control of the church. Through troubled times of the middle ages the vineyards managed to thrive reaching their heyday in the nineteenth century.

The Minervois vineyard may be imagined at as giant amphitheatre with Canal du Midi as the stage and Carcassone and Narbonne as the wings. The northern terraces rise to create the rear of the auditorium. Across such an area it is logical that the terroir varies. There are polished stones, sandstone, schist, chalk and white marble. Each produces a different wine.

It is an area best known for its red wines which are made primarily from the most famous grapes of the Rhone Valley - Grenache, Syrah, Mouvedre, Carignan, Cinsault and a few more including some local varieties. Vine age is often extremely old.

Anne Gros and Jean-Paul Tollot are husband and wife and are both well known and respected wine makers in Burgundy - Anne at her Domaine Anne Gros and Jean-Paul at Domaine Tollot-Beaut. They wanted to make wine together and considered sites in the south and south-west of France before settling on a property in the hills outside the hamlet of Cazelles. It was a five hour drive from Burgundy and planning permission was required to build a new cellar which was competed in 2008.The vineyards have grown from 8 to 12 hectares over the last few years which are planted to Cinsault, Grenache, Carignan and Syrah. Some vines are over a century old. The plots are beautifully tended and whilst they are not organic they use many of the techniques. Everything is hand-picked and three lieu-dits are bottled independently.