To drink with Oysters

Le Vigne Piu Vecchie White 2010

Le Coste

A great deal of wisdom goes into this 100% Procanico Italian white wine, produced from vines around sixty years old. A precious plot, located on the volcanic soils of the Le Coste estate, to which it owes its name: the vigne più vecchie, literally "the oldest vines." After direct pressing and a short maceration, this cuvée is aged for many months in 500-liter oak barrels before being bottled, where it will wait another thirty-six months. Despite its venerable age, one cannot help but be charmed by the beautiful minerality that it manages to retain in the mouth, and by its formidable balance.
Natural wine without added sulfites.

Le Sage Vagnin, Blanc 2023

Philippe Chatillon

Le Sage Vagnin 2023 est une cuvée précieuse, confidentielle et empreinte de sagesse. Seulement 800 bouteilles produites chaque année, toutes issues d’un petit clos planté de vignes de Savagnin âgées de 65 ans, enracinées profondément dans les marnes grises jurassiennes. Cette rareté est le fruit du travail précis et inspiré de Philippe Chatillon, vigneron sensible au vivant, dont le domaine est certifié en agriculture biologique, et situé dans le berceau du cépage, à Arbois.

Vinifié en pressurage direct puis élevé deux ans en barriques anciennes, ce vin blanc AOC Arbois se distingue par sa pureté aromatique et sa rondeur équilibrée. Aucun bois neuf, aucun intrant : juste le raisin, le temps, et l’attention du vigneron. Le résultat est un Savagnin tout en nuances, d’une rondeur minérale, entre tension et douceur.

Le nez est à la fois expressif et délicat : agrumes frais, pêche blanche, fleur d’acacia, avec une touche minérale subtile. En bouche, la texture est ronde mais tendue, avec une belle allonge, une sensation saline élégante, et une finale fraîche et florale. Le vin évite toute lourdeur, jouant sur l’équilibre parfait entre richesse naturelle du cépage et finesse du terroir.

Le Sage Vagnin accompagnera avec grâce des fruits de mer, des fromages affinés comme le comté ou le bleu de Gex, mais aussi une cuisine plus épicée, orientale ou végétale. À servir entre 10 et 12°C, avec un léger carafage, et à apprécier dès maintenant ou à garder jusqu’à 5 ans.

Un vin rare, pour les amateurs de finesse et de singularité jurassienne.

La Bueilloise Blanc 2022

La Grapperie
La Bueilloise is a dry white sparkling wine from the Coteaux du Loir, classified as Vin de France, organic (Ecocert), and natural. It is produced by Renaud Guettier of La Grapperie, without the addition of sulfites or any other chemical additives. A fine example of this winemaker's expertise, with added bubbles.

Vinification
La Bueilloise is a blend of young and old Chenin Blanc (60%) and Pinot d'Aunis (40%) vines, pruned in goblet and crescent shapes on a flint-clay terroir. The oldest vines are 115 years old and the youngest 8 years old. The harvest is carried out by hand at full maturity. Spontaneous fermentation in fiberglass vats using indigenous yeasts for one month, followed by fermentation in bottles where aging continues for twelve months on the lees. Manual disgorging without the addition of preservatives, then recapping.

Tasting
The atypical blend of La Bueilloise is based on the majority of Chenin, ripe to the point, which brings its roundness, aromas and liveliness. The Pineau d'Aunis brings a slight bitterness. Dry and nuanced, sending out clouds of aromas in bursts, this wine offers lively and intense bubbles. Fresh apple, pear, minerality, dryness, straightforwardness. An aromatic and refreshing sparkling wine, which you can pair with a wide range of good things and not necessarily "white wine" products: it will go well with local charcuterie, fresh veal and pork, raw or cooked shellfish (scallops) and crustaceans, lobster or fish in sauce, and fine sweet or savory flaky pastries. It is the perfect companion to a good blanquette or salmon with beurre blanc.

Learn more about Renaud Guettier and La Grapperie
In the Coteaux du Loir appellation, La Grapperie is the name of the estate of Renaud Guettier, who can be described as a master of Chenin, but also of Pineau d'Aunis, which is one of the oldest grape varieties in the Loire Valley.

The estate
Renaud's 60 hectares of hillside vines are protected from the north winds by the Bercé forest. Depending on the altitude, the terroirs are predominantly clay, flint, or sand. The grape varieties are the two traditionally authorized in the appellation: Chenin for the whites and Pineau d'Aunis for 90% of the reds, the rest consisting of a few ares of Côt, Gamay and Grolleau. Some vines are more than a hundred years old.

In the vineyard and the winery
The entire estate is cultivated organically. The soils are worked and all viticultural interventions are manual, including the harvest, carried out at full maturity, which is reflected in the fullness and smoothness of the wines. For the reds, the Pineau d'Aunis is partially destemmed (depending on the plot) and the macerations are quite long, three to four weeks, with punching down, to promote aging potential. The wines are aged in barrels for between twelve and twenty-four months, then racked, blended and bottled without filtration. For the whites, the Chenins are pressed directly at low pressure then put into barrels with complete malolactic fermentation, for at least eighteen months, malolactic included, and sometimes up to thirty-six months.

Hip Hip Chardonnay Blanc 2020,

Domaine de l'Octavin
Light, saline, slightly creamy, supported by superb acidity and a lovely minerality, Hip Hip Chardonnay makes no secret of its tropical notes (pineapple, papaya, mango) and its lovely citrus notes: orange and lemon peel, mandarin, lime. What richness! Added to this are white flowers, honeysuckle, oregano, white pepper, a lovely stony touch and perfectly balanced tannins. Clean and mineral finish. While it's true that Chardonnay works wonders in Burgundy, it also thrives in the Jura, where it finds its local style and is often paired with Savagnin. According to the method favored in the Jura, it frequently undergoes skin maceration. This Chardonnay was macerated here for two months in whole bunches in 2020 and aged in vats. Bottling was carried out in July 2021.

Find out more
“You don’t need anything,” says Alice Bouvot, winemaker at Domaine de l’Octavin, “just a grape that’s comfortable in its own skin.” Everything is said in favor of natural wine; it’s a perfect description. Created in 2005, Domaine d’Alice is located in Arbois, in this wine-growing Jura region, often described as the most organic vineyard in France. The habit of making – among other things – oxidative wines is a good preparation for natural wine, this type of wine allowing no chemical additives and especially no sulfites. It’s a secret of this magnificent region. Originally spread over two hectares, the estate, managed entirely biodynamically (Demeter) since 2010, has expanded through the gradual acquisition of plots and now covers seven hectares.
An accomplished musician and passionate music lover, Alice intends to apply her musical sensitivity to the wines she makes. She draws a parallel between the technical perfection of conventional wines, which risks excluding feeling, while "a musician who does not know music theory and plays with his guts creates emotion." For her, living wine is like this: instinctive, improvised, emotional. Introduced to natural wine by Stéphane Planche, sommelier at chef Jean-Paul Jeunet in Arbois, she will faithfully follow this path. The sometimes whimsical titles of her vintages are inspired sometimes by musical art (Dorabella, Zerline), sometimes by the numerous plots of land that make up her vineyard (En Curon, Les Corvées, En Poussot, etc.), and do not disdain a pun from time to time. Likewise, the labels adorned with happy and salacious little gnomes are a signature of the estate. As for the grape varieties, they are the classics of the Jura - Poulsard, Trousseau, Pinot Noir for the reds, and Chardonnay, Savagnin for the whites. Alongside her Arbois wines, Alice has created a business of "on the vine" grapes (Ecocert certified) with her winegrower friends from the region. Natural, committed, joyful and highly drinkable, the wines of Alice Bouvot are all the more coveted as the vintages, produced in plot-by-plot mode, appear, disappear and reappear depending on the vintage and inspiration.

Gabbrodo Magnum Blanc 2022

De Vini

Le Gabbrodo 2022 de De Vini (Vinilibre) est une ode au terroir du Pays Nantais. Ce vin naturel sans aucun intrant exprime avec finesse le Melon de Bourgogne, cépage emblématique de la région. Issu des sols de gabbro, une roche volcanique rare en Loire, il bénéficie d’un élevage de 9 mois en jarre de grès, conférant une pureté et une tension remarquables à ce blanc d’exception.

Sa robe pâle aux reflets dorés annonce un vin lumineux et cristallin. Le nez séduit par sa fraîcheur et sa complexité aromatique : des notes d’agrumes (citron, pamplemousse), de fruits blancs (poire, pêche) et une touche iodée qui rappelle son origine maritime. En bouche, l’attaque est franche et vive, portée par une belle acidité et une minéralité tranchante. L’élevage en jarre apporte une texture soyeuse, tout en préservant la tension et la fraîcheur du vin. La finale est longue, saline, avec une persistance délicatement fumée qui invite à la dégustation.

Le Gabbrodo 2022 se révèle être un compagnon idéal pour les produits de la mer. Il sublimera une Saint-Jacques aux truffes, un homard grillé, un bar en croûte de sel ou un sandre au beurre blanc. À servir entre 10 et 12°C, il peut être dégusté dès maintenant pour sa fraîcheur éclatante ou patientera en cave 5 à 10 ans pour dévoiler toute sa complexité.

Crac Rosé 2021

Belly Wine Experiment
Fresh, fruity, and pleasant, Crac is a vin gris, a still rosé wine made entirely or partially from black grapes. It generally undergoes a very short maceration, hence its light color. This is obtained by slow direct pressing (forty-eight hours) of Auvergne Gamays "sur limagne," or on the dark-colored sedimentary and volcanic soils that make up the Auvergne plain. This slow pressing, replacing a short maceration, allows for a gentle extraction of the grape's constituents and gives the wine its color. To these Auvergne Gamays are added a proportion of Pinot Gris from Alsace. Categorized as Vin de France, free from any chemical or sulfite additives in the vineyard or in the cellar, Crac spends a year aging on lees before bottling. This wine is produced using organic farming methods and has received no chemical or sulfite additives, in the vineyard or in the cellar. It will go very well with charcuterie, cured meats, and tapas of all kinds.

To find out more
Founded and run by Claire Sage and Aimé Duveau, located in Chanteuges (Haute-Loire), Belly Wine Experiment is as much an experiment as it is a winemaking business. The creative duo has a lot to offer: Claire is the sister of Daniel Sage, a fan of underwater wine aging but above all an importer of Catalan wines. Hence the presence of Catalan grape varieties in Belly Wine Experiment's blends, alongside Burgundy, Auvergne and Jura grape varieties, readily found in the same bottle. Aimé is the son of Manu Duveau, a poet-winemaker from Auvergne, a former stonemason and a great winemaker of local Gamays at his Domaine de l'Égrappille. The specificity of Belly Wine Experiment is the exoticism (in the literal sense) of the blends, with Xarel lo from Catalonia being able to rub shoulders, for example, with Gamay from Puy-de-Dôme with the utmost naturalness. The wines are made using semicarbonic maceration, without the addition of chemical additives or excessive manipulation in the cellar. The house is also known for its very high-quality, vinous perries.

Ceci n'est pas un vin White 2023

La Tribu Alonso

Ceci n'est pas un vin is still a wine, white, dry, organic, and natural, with no added sulfites. Made in Beaujolais by Cyril of La Tribu Alonso, it is classified as a Vin de France. It is 100% Chardonnay, but there are twenty-eight different varieties in the bottle. Just as the red wine Ambre dissolve is inspired by Salvador Dalí, this one obviously alludes to Henri Magritte (see the label).

Vinification

The collection of twenty-eight Chardonnays from the ampelothèque, from which Ceci n’est pas un vin is made, is planted on a half-hectare plot on granite, with wild grass, agroforestry and no tillage. The vines, pruned in the goblet style, are between four and thirty years old. There are Chardonnays here of all tastes and colors (white, pink, muscaté, etc.), and it seems that the multiplicity of grape varieties gives a whole new face to this Chardonnay, unfortunately a little overused in the world of viticulture. "We are moving away from the boring Chardonnay," says Cyril. The manual harvest goes into direct pressing and, after a 48-hour settling process, only sees from the vat to its bottling. Alcoholic fermentation without starter culture using indigenous yeasts, malolactic fermentation also in fiberglass vats. Zero chemical inputs, in the vineyard and in the cellar, and zero added sulfites.

Tasting

Surprisingly, Ceci n’est pas un vin: the opposite of classic Chardonnay, it has great qualities of resistance. Solid, fine and balanced. A dry white wine with no added sulfites that has a very long shelf life once opened, it is rare and unique. It can last, recorked, for a whole week. On the nose and palate, it is a marvel of perfume and aroma, as if it offered the quintessence of Chardonnay through all its varieties. Salty, iodized, aromatic and floral, it evokes peach or apricot blossom, white peach, and its acidity-alcohol balance will allow it to be kept between 5 and 7 years. It can be drunk whenever you want, with oysters, shellfish, raw or smoked fish, tapas, fine starters and any elegant and refined cuisine.

Learn more about the Alonso Tribe

This tribal name refers to Cyril Alonso, winemaker, his wife, naturopath, and their family. They take care, using organic farming methods, of a conservatory of traditional grape varieties from the Rhône-Alpes region located in Marchampt (Rhône), in the heart of the Beaujolais Vert region. This two-and-a-half-hectare ampel library, which has existed since 1952, contained forty grape varieties. It currently contains one hundred and forty. This unique location gives the Tribu Alonso wines their particular style. Instead of being single-varietal microcuvées, they are quite the opposite: wines by grape variety family, either a Chardonnay containing all the Chardonnays of the house or a multi-Gamay Gamay.

A biotope classified in 2008

The estate enjoys a unique ecological location: the house and the vineyard are surrounded by untouched forests, on the steep terrain of northern Beaujolais. Three rivers cross it, and the vines, close to the bedrock, capture all the minerality of the soil. Organic farming is practiced and the work, both in the vineyard and in the cellar, is entirely manual, without the use of any chemical additives or sulfites in the winemaking process.

The wines

Cuvées of co-plantation (and for good reason), the wines of the Tribu Alonso embrace all the complexity of their grape varieties and the viticultural history of Beaujolais. These are carefully crafted wines, made with great care, fermented and aged to the sound of Tibetan bowls, whose alpha waves are beneficial to the liquids. The vatting periods are short, to preserve the freshness and fruit, as well as the signature of the soil and grape varieties.

Burgundy white Bigotes White 2021

Frédéric Cossard

Bigotes is a dry, organic, and natural white wine made by Frédéric Cossard from Chardonnay. Although it is a "generic" white Burgundy, it clearly bears the mark of its terroir and the winemaker. Bigotes is, in a way, the white counterpart of the Bedeau red cuvée.

Vinification

Bigotes is produced by Frédéric Cossard on a small plot of Chardonnay in the Burgundy regional appellation, on clay-limestone soils. This is a direct-press, organic wine, with no added sulfites.

Tasting

Bigotes is characterized by tension and indulgence. On the nose, the aromatic attack is lemony, lingering with yellow fruits. On the palate, tension, fullness, indulgence, a little fat, and plenty of aromatic persistence. He is not demanding in terms of pairings: he goes with white meats, smoked fish, oysters and shellfish, seafood, mature cheeses, beautiful roasted poultry, salmon pastries and href="https://culinaries.fr/producteurs/ferme-du-bois-de-boulle/">rabbit sautéed with lemon.

Learn more about Frédéric Cossard and the Domaine de Chassorney

Frédéric Cossard and the domaine de Chassorney give organic and natural voice to Burgundy wines (and those from elsewhere), undistorted by agricultural chemicals, according to the style and convictions of this winegrower and merchant. Wherever the grapes come from, its wines bear the Cossard brand, both classic and creative.

Between viticulture and trade

Frédéric Cossard created the domaine de Chassorney in 1996: initially a few ares of vines in Saint-Romain, Auxey-Duresses and Savigny-lès-Beaune, and currently ten hectares spread across the Nuits-Saint-Georges, Pommard, Volnay, Bourgogne-Hautes-Côtes-de-Beaune and Bourgogne appellations. In 2006, he created his own trading house and buys organic grapes from the greatest climates of Burgundy, but also from Jura, Languedoc and elsewhere.

A solid commitment to nature

At Frédéric Cossard, the work of the soil and the vines is done naturally: plowing by horse, biodynamics, no chemical fertilizers or weedkillers. The harvest, by hand, is carried out at full maturity. Frédéric Cossard's vintages are rare and sought-after, wines that are always highly anticipated but which sometimes require waiting.

Bourgogne Bigotes Qvevris Blanc 2022,

Frédéric Cossard


With the Bourgogne Blanc Bigotes Qvevris 2022, Frédéric Cossard explores a unique approach to Chardonnay, aging it in qvevris (Georgian amphorae). This ancestral vinification method allows the terroir to be expressed in a unique way, producing a white wine that is both pure and structured.

An exceptional Chardonnay
Grown on clay-limestone soils, this wine benefits from a vinification process without additives and aging in qvevris, which brings a beautiful aromatic complexity and a silky texture. Its mineral and taut profile makes it an atypical and fascinating cuvée.

An expressive nose and a vibrant palate
The nose reveals notes of ripe white fruits, citrus fruits and dried flowers, with a mineral and slightly smoky touch. On the palate, the body is ample and structured, carried by a vibrant acidity and a long and saline finish.

What to enjoy with this wine?
Ideally served at 10-12°C, this white Burgundy will go perfectly with oysters, fish ceviche or mature goat cheeses. Its aging potential of 5 to 10 years will allow it to evolve towards even more complex and deep aromas.

Skin Contact Combe Bazin White 2016, Domaine de Chassorney
This Chardonnay comes from a steep, east-facing plot between 280 and 400 meters above sea level. The soils are mainly marl, limestone, and clay. After skin maceration, the wine is aged for about a year in barrels. This climate is known for producing mineral, lively, sapid, and persistent wines, with the added bonus of Burgundian smoothness.
Natural wine with no added sulfites.

i Vicini Favorita White 2022

Jean-Yves Péron

Favorita, from the I Vicini merchant range, is produced by Jean-Yves Péron using organic, biodynamic, and natural methods. It is made from organic grapes purchased in Asti (Piedmont). This macerated white wine is made from 100% Favorita, a local white grape variety very similar to Vermentino.

Vinification

The grapes used for this Favorita cuvée are harvested at full maturity from young vines growing on semi-slopes. One-third of them are directly pressed and two-thirds are macerated in carbonic acid for two weeks. The wine is aged for one year in 300-liter barrels. Unfiltered, unfined, and no sulfites are added.

Tasting

This is a Vermentino that bears the hallmarks of a more continental terroir and climate than average. It has a beautiful acidic base and plenty of minerality, sapidity, and aroma, similar to certain Alsatian grape varieties: fragrant without being exotic. Pair it with fish and seafood in all their forms: oysters, shellfish, smoked salmon, etc.

Learn more about Jean-Yves Péron

Jean-Yves Péron skillfully embodies the organic, biodynamic, and natural renaissance of the Savoyard vineyard, which thrives on varied soils and numerous indigenous grape varieties (Jacquère, Altesse, Mondeuse, etc.). At his Chevaline winery in the Bauges region, he vinifies grapes from his plots in Conflans, near Albertville, and Fréterive, in the Isère Valley.

High-altitude biodynamics

Jean-Yves Péron's work adheres to the principles of minimal intervention. On narrow and steep surfaces, his mountain vines in micro-plots, worked by hand, do not receive any synthetic products, Jean-Yves preferring horsetail and nettle manure. All of Jean-Yves Péron's wines are sulfite-free, made from hand-harvested grapes, vinified in whole bunches and foot-trodden in the vat. For all vintages, the free-run and press are blended, then aged on lees for at least one year, in two- or three-wine barrels, amphorae or tuns, before final blending. They must be stored at a temperature below 18°C. No sulfites are added, or as little as possible, and the wines are neither fined nor filtered.

Italo-Savoyard trade

Since 2011, a trading activity has allowed Jean-Yves Péron to purchase harvests from neighboring organic winegrowers and collaborate with winegrowers from Northern Italy: this is the I Vicini series, which allows him to diversify the terroirs and deepen his winemaking and aging experiences.

Eveil Blanc 2023

Domaine Einhart

A dry and vibrant white, combining freshness and conviviality

The Domaine Einhart, a rising star in natural wine in Alsace, offers us here an exclusive cuvée full of character: Éveil 2023. This dry and balanced white, labeled organic, is a tribute to the limestone terroirs and emblematic Alsatian grape varieties. Composed of 35% Riesling, 35% Auxerrois, and 30% Gewurztraminer, this wine expresses all the richness of its loamy, clayey, and limestone soil, grown on plots located on cool, windswept hillsides.

A Tasting Experience in Elegance

With a luminous pale gold color, Éveil 2023 opens with a delicate nose blending subtle aromas of bergamot and white flowers. On the palate, the freshness is pronounced, with a lovely mineral tension and a slight salinity. Its ample texture and slightly spicy aromatic profile make this a white wine that is both lively and generous, supported by beautiful acidity and a lingering finish.

Authentic winemaking

The grapes, hand-harvested in 20kg crates, undergo meticulous treatment in the cellar. After a short 24-hour maceration to initiate fermentation, they are pressed directly. Fermentation is carried out by indigenous yeasts, guaranteeing a pure expression of the fruit and terroir. It is then aged for 8 months in Pinot Noir barrels, on fine lees, to give the wine its balance and depth.