Producer: Brusset

Domaine Brusset, Rhône Valley (France)

"Les Hauts de Montmirail" is one of the most concentrated, magical wines of the appellation
(Robert M. Parker, Wines of the Rhône Valley , Dorling Kindersley)

André Brusset founded this estate in 1947 since when it has grown into one of the largest landowners in Cairanne and Gigondas with some important holdings in both appellations. Following his death in 1999, his son Daniel and grandson Laurent created a special cuvée, Hommage à André Brusset, from their oldest vines planted on the estate's best parcels in Cairanne, made only in the best vintages.

Daniel Brusset has made the estate world famous, principally for the two Gigondas cuvees, Le Grand Montmirail and the oaked Les Hauts de Montmirail. Both are consistently amongst the finest wines to come out of the appellation each year with Les Hauts one of the most powerful yet elegant wines from this appellation. It is attractive young but can age effortlessly for a decade or more. More recently, Laurent has been making a more traditional prestige bottling, Secrets de Montmirail, which is aged in older oak so that the old-vine grapes shine through. Magnificent stuff.

The Brussets' wines are always in the top tier from both Gigondas and Cairanne. A personal favourite is the Cairanne cuvée which used to be called Les Chabriles after a lieu dit in the appellation, now simply Vieilles Vignes. It is a concentrated Grenache-Syrah blend which generally drinks well young but has a good lifespan too. Otherwise Laurent also makes a Mourvèdre/Grenache wine from Rasteau and a Roussanne-based white Cairanne, Esprit de Papet, which includes a good dollop of the highly aromatic Viognier. Simply lovely.

Frequently asked questions

We discovered wine when making a last grand tour of Europe before settling down to our careers. The old VW camper van inevitably kept breaking down and we found ourselves with time on our hands in the Loire, Bordeaux and, especially, the Rhône. There were only so many rivers to jump into to cool down in that hot summer so we started tasting wine - real wine, not the stuff we had been buying in the supermarkets. We returned to England knowing we would be starting a specialist wine import business importing from the Southern Rhône before expanding the list along with our interests to include a range of excellent mid-price Burgundy, Languedoc, Loire...

The decision to focus on France initially came about for two main reasons:

1. France still offers the highest quality and widest range of styles of wine of any wine-producing country;

2. By concentrating on a smaller geographical area it is possible to offer better value.

Since then, we have succumbed to the allure of Italy and have found some amazing wines from Piedmont, Tuscany, Veneto and, more recently, Basilicata and Puglia in the far south, all superb wines at affordable prices. Great food wines too so, whatever you are eating, you will find something to match it here.

Some restrictions we place on ourselves: only buy wines direct from the producers and sell by the (mixed) case to offer the best prices throughout the UK for wines of this quality. Also, and perhaps most important, only buy wines we like to drink ourselves.

Wines are stored in a temperature-controlled bonded warehouse so they never suffer overheating and dried-out corks which can so easily spoil good wines bought from shops and supermarkets. As we don't have a shop, our overheads are low which in turn enables us to keep our prices as low as possible.

Furthermore, unlike many other internet wine merchants, The Big Red Wine Company will mix cases at no extra charge.

We can store your wines at our bonded warehouse in Basildon for £8 plus VAT per case per year.

We will work quickly to ship your order as soon as possible. Once your order has shipped, you will receive an email with further information. Delivery times vary depending on your location.

Most wines can be purchased "in bond". This means that you only pay for the wine itself until you remove it from storage, at which time you will pay the duty and VAT at the prevailing rates together with any shipping charges. If a wine does not have an "in bond" price, please ask if you are interested in purchasing it this way as all wines are stored at the bond until sold.

Delivery is free on all orders over £200.
Otherwise, delivery is charged at £10 per delivery address for orders between £50 and £200.
Whilst we accept orders under £50, the delivery charge is £20 to cover the costs charged to us by the bonded warehouse.

Account

Domaine Brusset, Rhône Valley (France)

Domaine Brusset, Cairanne 2020 'Les Travers'

Domaine Brusset, Cairanne 2020 'Sans Sulfites Ajoutes'

Domaine Brusset, Rasteau 2019 'Bastide'

Domaine Brusset, Rasteau 2020 'Bastide'

Domaine Brusset, Cairanne 2019 'L'Esprit de Papet'

Domaine Brusset, Cairanne 2020 'Vieilles Vignes'

Domaine Brusset, Gigondas 2016 'Le Grand Montmirail'

Domaine Brusset, Gigondas 2013 'Le Grand Montmirail'

Domaine Brusset, Gigondas 2015 'Le Grand Montmirail'

Domaine Brusset, Gigondas 2020 'Le Grand Montmirail'

Domaine Brusset, Gigondas 2019 'Le Grand Montmirail'

Domaine Brusset, Gigondas 2013 'Les Hauts de Montmirail'

Domaine Brusset, Gigondas 2013 'Les Hauts de Montmirail'

Domaine Brusset, Gigondas 2016 'Les Hauts de Montmirail'

Domaine Brusset, Gigondas 2019 'Les Hauts de Montmirail'

Domaine Brusset, Gigondas 2020 'Les Hauts de Montmirail'

Domaine Brusset, Gigondas 2015 'Les Secrets de Montmirail'

Domaine Brusset, Gigondas 2016 'Les Secrets de Montmirail'

Domaine Brusset, Gigondas 2019 'Les Secrets de Montmirail'

Frequently asked questions