Grown almost nowhere but the gravel terraces of Fronton, between Toulouse and the Tarn, Négrette is one of France's most local grapes — and one of its most floral. It gives a supple, deeply scented red of violet, peony and red cherry, soft in tannin and made to be drunk young for its perfume.
Legend links its arrival to the Knights of St John returning from the Crusades, though its roots are almost certainly local. Fragile in the vineyard and unknown abroad, it is the fragrant, singular heart of one small appellation — a reminder of how much diversity France's south-west still guards.