GERARD Gauby's wines are magical. I visited the man dubbed "the uncrowned king of the Roussillon" at his home and winery in Calce, which is a 20-minute drive from Perpignan, during a few days spent in the Languedoc-Rousillon last month.

In the morning before arriving at Monsieur Gauby's, I was feeling out of sorts. This may have had something to do with all the rich food I had been eating since my arrival in France. Luckily, the chef in the village café knocked up a bowl of vegetable soup for my lunch (merci, mon ami) and I started to feel a bit brighter. I swear, however, that it was Gauby's wine that finally banished the upset from my stomach.

Gauby is a man of imposing stature, but not as imposing as the largest of his four dogs which greeted me when I pulled up at his home.

I can't remember the breed, but apparently it was of the type that likes eating wolves. Glad that I had plucked between my eyebrows, I walked to the cellar where, somewhat spookily, Gèrard's translator announced that "the wines might not taste quite right today, as it is a full moon". Gèrard has for the past ten years used biodynamic ways of treating the vines, where the passage of the moon is oh so important.

He brews his own plant-based concoctions that work as insect repellents, anti-fungal treatments and as a fertiliser. Horses are used for ploughing to avoid compacting the soil and weeds are left until harvest, to help stop soil erosion. Gauby has also bought land to use as habitat breaks in an attempt to encourage the natural predators of unwelcome vine visitors.

Winemakers agree that old vines produce less but better quality fruit, and Gauby is blessed with very "vielle vignes". Indeed, he has some vines that pre-date the phylloxera aphid outbreak that threatened to destroy the vineyards of Europe in the late nineteenth century. He also believes in hard pruning and yield levels are subsequently low.

But what does this all mean for consumer? Is the end product really so much better? In Gauby's case, it most definitely is - but his wines don't come cheap.

Gèrard makes some stunning white wines at Domaine Gauby and a few miles away at Domaine le Soula, which he jointly owns.

South-west France is often thought to be too hot to grow good sauvignon blanc, but Gèrard has had great success using north-facing slopes at higher altitudes. For evidence of this, try Le Soula, Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes Blanc 2004 (£19.20 from A&B Vintners, www.abvintners.co.uk), a blend of six white varietals including sauvignon. It is delightfully fresh, aromatic and full of tropical fruit flavours with a subtle oak influence.

Or, if you want single vineyard Gauby, try the Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes Blanc, Coume Gineste 2002, £40.60 from A&B Vintners (www.abvintners.co.uk). It's jaw-dropping stuff! All the better for a little age, Gauby insists that the 2002 is a baby in terms of ageing potential even for his whites. It is fantastically complex and beautifully underpinned by limestone minerals and balanced oak notes.

I don't need to spare my enthusiasm for his Côtes du Rousillon Villages Rouge, Muntada 2001 (£42.50 from Majestic Fine Wine) either, another single vineyard wine. Rich, delicate and perfectly balanced reds like this are a real treat. The syrah, grenache, carignan blend is intense, smooth, lingering nectar of the highest order.

As I said at the start, Gerard Gauby's wines are magical. After tasting his wines, all thoughts of my upset stomach were gone and I was ready for another hearty meal.

For more of Gauby's wines check out www.thewinesociety.com and www.abvintners.co.uk