Vintages New Release Collection –June 7, 2025

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What’s the opposite of box-checking? It may very well be spelled “Hecht & Bannier.” The boutique Mediterranean winery released their first organic wine, Le Languedoc, in 2007, then spent the subsequent decades converting their entire line to organic viticulture. As of 2023, all their vineyards in Languedoc and Provence are certified organic by Ecocert. But they didn’t stop there. “The other thing we are very committed to is trying to understand the global impact of our winery,” says co-founder Gregory Hecht. “Since 2020, we committed to conduct a scope 3 carbon inventory. That was huge work, as you can imagine, but super interesting.” Scope 3 emissions, also known as life-cycle emissions, are those that arise across an organization’s entire value chain, before and after a product is delivered or consumed. Bottle weight was identified as a large driver of emissions, so they switched to lightweight glass and are developing a bottle-reuse program with some of their domestic distributors. “It’s a huge investment for us, but we have to do it. You have to experience it to understand every single problem, every single challenge. It’s a learning process.” To further reduce their carbon footprint, Hecht & Bannier partnered with 1% for the Planet to donate 1% of sales to environmental organizations. “We don’t buy offsets,” says Hecht. “We support associations which preserve natural carbon sinks.” The organizations they selected are Surfrider Foundation, who work to safeguard oceans; Des enfants et Des arbres, who pair schoolchildren and farmers for agroforestry projects; and Noé, who protect biodiversity in France and abroad. “The third step for us was B-Corp certification,” says Hecht. When Hecht & Bannier joined this robust, trusted program in 2022, they were the first winery in their region to be certified. They must recertify every three years. So why go through all this effort? “The first motivation is personal,” says Hecht. “I don’t eat tomatoes in December.” (If you know, you know.) The wines of Hecht & Bannier are held to the same high standards, and benefit from the same personal touch. “We always make wines that we love and that we enjoy drinking.”

HECHT & BANNIER LE LANGUEDOC 2023 AC Languedoc, France

“This wine is a great ambassador of our work. It really represents what the Languedoc is today. The idea was to preserve a lot of its Mediterranean character; to get spicy, to get fruit-driven, to get super fresh. It’s a red wine you can have in the door of your fridge, that you can have just a bit chilled with very simple dishes like pasta ragout, pizza, a good barbecue, or just on its own for people who enjoy sipping

a glass of red wine.” (Gregory Hecht) 89 points (jamessuckling.com) Medium-bodied & Fruity 251587

(XD) 750 mL $18.95 1

New at Vintages 4 Organic product

FOR COMPLETE TASTING NOTE, SEE PAGE 34.