NADA - O&R
Raphaël Baissas de Chastenet and Oscar Mancillas
Calce, Languedoc-Roussillon, France
Raphaël, NADA, sees wine making as a form of art and that is definitely the right way to describe his wines. Some of the best wines from the region, the small village of Calce nearby Perpignan. His old vines are from his grandfather, plants of Grenache, Macabeu, Lledoner Pelut.
Next to his own line NADA, O&R was born a few years ago. A collaboration between Raphaël and Oscar Mancillas, two friends who during their fitst meeting decided that they had something important to say about the grapes of Calce. They started out making about 1,000L of wine which has now grown to 10,000L. Their wines reflect the evolution of the friendship between Raphaël and Oscar, an unlikely bond between a Frenchman from Calce and a winemaker from Ensenada, Mexico.
They use their own grapes: Grenache noir, Grenache blanc, Carignan noir, Macabeu and Syrah in the wines, but also those of their neighbors in the surrounding vineyards: Roussanne, Muscat d'Alexandrie and Mourvèdre. The area of Calce is located exactly at the intersection of two different terroirs: old limestone with clay and river stones from the Corbières and younger slate from the Pyrenees.
All the wines are full of energy and surprising with every sip. The NADA line consisting of our favorite, the amazing CR or Cristal as we still call it, but that is currently prohibited by the Champagne producer..
Wines that are unknown, limited but super, super good. Really something to try!
Nada
