Hiram remembers meeting Cyril Marès in the late 80's when Cyril was a teenager, and his father Roger still ran the estate while presiding over the appellation; Martin remembers buying these wines from Hiram in the early 2000's. Such is this winery's tenure with us! Cyril took over in 1998, married the girl next door (Nathalie Blanc of neighboring Mas Carlot), and carried on a wine tradition rooted in his father's Bordeaux training. The vines sit on the famed galets roulés of the Rhône, and the wines show exceptional aromatic appeal, a supple texture, and an uncannily intelligent balance of fruit and oak. Certified organic from the 2020 vintage, Mas Grand Plagniol offers incontrovertible proof that a little money can buy a lot of love. We never seem to buy enough of their wines, and in a region now crowded with capable Nîmes wines, this producer sits at the top of the pile.