Making a four-handed wine is about combining the winemakers’ expertise, which is rooted in the terroir, with that of a former globe-trotter who tastes everything, smells everything (like a cat).

For a red to accompany your meals, our Merlot brings back the prestige to this slandered grape variety, the famous Karate Caaaaaaat (which is between 45 and 120 times cheaper than Pétrus), we head of to Gascogne, to Domaine Entras with Michel Maestrojuan.

Can you describe yourself in a few words?

Tall, blond, long-haired and handsome… No, just kidding!

How did you get into winemaking?

My parents were winemakers. I’ve always been around the smell of fermentation (in the cellar), the vines in summer (organic farming), the bustle of harvesting… but I think I discovered the magic of wine in my Agricultural School’s wine club. A few years later, I went back to my childhood home and I threw myself into the winemaking adventure.

What is your work process like?

I manage 29 hectares of vineyards and 60 hectares of different crops like wheat, small spelt, soya, fenugreek, triticale, field beans. The entire estate was Organic Agriculture certified in 2021. I use plant covers for the vineyards and I replant various native hedge species. Little by little, I’m introducing biodynamic preparations to my crops and I’m analysing the results. I make wine with indigenous yeasts. In the wine cellar, I use vats, casks, tanks, earthenware jars. I apply a long aging period, with or without sulphur depending on the wine batch. I’m trying to progress freely in my choices and I think the wine benefits from that.

Is there a message behind your wines?

Drink me, I’m good and wholesome, I’m good for you.

What did you like about co-creating Caaaaaaat wines?

Meeting Christophe K, the free spirit, catalyst for wine and winemaker.

Any upcoming projects?

“Orange is the new wine”. Christophe and I are working on a new colourful collaboration at the moment (it is out, see here).

What’s the dream for a winemaker?

Making an easy drinking wine, with depth, you want to finish in one go.

Thank you Michel for taking the time to talk to us. Thanks to Domaine Entras for being our partner. We love you!