Fronton: Domaine Roumagnac Authentique Red

First cultivated by the Romans, the South West is one of France's largest wine-producing regions, encompassing a vast and varied area to the west of (but not including) Bordeaux. Its local rivers, such as the Garonne and Dordogne, once played an important role in transporting the wines to market, though having to pass through Bordeaux and its protective trade laws left the region long overshadowed by its famous neighbour. Today, the South West is celebrated for its sweet, dry, and sparkling whites and its robust reds, made from an exceptional diversity of local grape varieties rarely found elsewhere. Its varying climates and elevations produce some genuinely distinctive and characterful wines.

The historic appellation of Toulouse, set on hills overlooking the Tarn valley some 35km north of the city in South-West France. Its defining feature is the local grape Négrette, of which Fronton is the world's only significant source, and which must make up at least 40% of every wine. Producing predominantly red wine along with rosé, it grows on poor, gravelly soils under generous sunshine that ripen the grape's inky, concentrated fruit. Blended with varieties such as Syrah, Cabernet, and Cot (Malbec), Négrette gives structured, characterful reds marked by black fruit, liquorice, pepper, and signature floral notes of violet and peony.