Twenty miles as the crow flies from the Mediterranean and due north from the city of Montpellier, nestled in the foothills of the Cevennes Mountains, surrounded by garrigue forest (a specific type of forest growing on limestone soils in southern Europe that contains a mix of green oaks, pines, laurel, thyme, rosemary, licorice plant, and mint) sits Château de Lascaux (lass-GO). Château is, in fact, the French word for castle, but it long ago ceased in the wine world to mean that there was a castle or grand manor house (as is rarely the case even in Bordeaux) or a residence of a noble on the property. Current French law says that one must use grapes only from vineyards owned by the winery and that the winemaking must be done on the property. A literal shack can qualify. In this case, the wine is actually made in an impressive structure, a medieval abbey, but the Cavalier family, whose roots in the area can be traced to at least the 16th century have no claims on nobility. They have, however, created one of the most impressive wine estates in France. With the daughters of Jean-Benoît Cavalier now learning the trade, the fifteenth generation of Cavaliers will continue the family tradition. Certified organic and biodynamically farmed Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre grown on “lascaux” soils, the Occitan word for limestone, gives a red wine of profound depth, intensity and complexity. The flavors of the garrigue certainly find their way into the bottle along with cherry, plum, orange peel and olive. Would be perfect with intensely flavored lamb dishes.