As a wave of housing development threatened to engulf the small Bordeaux wine village of Cardan and take away its rural culture, its community decided to take a stand to safeguard and sustain its future. 

Founded with the mission to protect the heritage of the beautiful village of Cardan, sustain its rural community and to hand produce high quality organic wines, Paradise Rescued was founded by Australian engineer entrepreneur and villager David Stannard in 2010. 

Beginning with a half hectare block of neglected Cabernet Franc, overlooked by the 12th century village church, setting an organic viticulture / wine strategy in place, Paradise Rescued has progressively restored the vineyard to good health and created the unique Bordeaux B1ockOne varietal Cabernet Franc brand wine.

In 2011, a second vineyard block was purchased next to the property and winery. The existing (now) 65 year old Merlot vines were retained and the remaining area cleared and replanted in new Merlot in 2014. This vineyard has become the home of Paradise Rescued Merlot and BlockTwo Merlot CabFranc Bordeaux blend.

Our wine philosophy is “fruit forward” - what we grow in the vineyard is reflected in the wine we produce. The wines are elegant, forward and easy to drink at a young age but with the potential to age beautifully, reflecting the care taken in both the vineyard and winery. We combine straightforward traditional techniques of winemaking and oak barrel maturation combined with modern organic science and minimal intervention. 

“Good wines are first created in the vineyard and the soil in which they are grown. We want our wines to reflect our efforts to create a dynamic organic vineyard environment.” David Stannard, Founder

The Paradise Rescued vision is to be a progressive niche niche brand leader. We export our wines across the Euro zone, the United Kingdom, Australia and the USA (pending). We welcome visitors to our vineyards and winery and look forward to sharing our story with you in person.

Paradise Rescued was awarded the 2021 France Winery of the Year for Cabernet Franc by the Melbourne International Wine Competition for its 2015 (Double Gold Medal) and 2014 (Gold Medal) awards. Paradise Rescued is also a two time winner of a Silver Stevie International Business Award.

Paradise Rescued

Following the purchase of the Hourcat Centre vineyard next to the property in 2011 and subsequent replacement of the abandoned vines to create a full organic Merlot vineyard, the vineyard has progressively gained strength and fruit yield.

After private winery trials in 2018 of a full varietal Merlot wine, the first commercial vintage was produced in 2019. It will be available for sale and release in 2022 or earlier on request to commercial customers.

Block3 Bordeaux Merlot