Aperitif

La Tribu Alonso

Ambre dissous Red 2020

€25,50

Ambre dissous Red 2020

Terroir, plot size and grape varieties

Born in the vibrant Beaujolais region, La Tribu Alonso's 2020 Ambre Dissous is a distinctive red wine, a wine of character that breaks with established norms. While Gamay takes center stage, it is an uncommon Gamay, made from teinturier grapes – a rarity in the region. This bold choice results in a captivatingly deep color, almost cloudy like the ink of mystery, and already hints at a singular expression of the terroir.

The vineyard stretches across granite soils typical of Beaujolais, in an area where the influences of the nearby Rhône are felt, bringing darker, spicier notes and a welcome tension. It is a land of contrasts, between the freshness of the north and the generosity of the south, which La Tribu Alonso has managed to tame with rare sensitivity.

Cultivation methods

The Alonso Tribe is, above all, a philosophy. It's a return to the essentials, a work in symbiosis with nature, far removed from artifice. The vines are cultivated without chemical inputs, respecting living organisms, lunar cycles, and the energies of the land. Here, each bunch is hand-picked, in an almost ritualistic gesture, then vinified with minimal intervention. Fermentation occurs naturally, with indigenous yeasts taking the reins to best express the identity of the grape and its terroir.

This artisanal approach yields a free, vibrant, unadorned wine, where the grape variety can sing without a false note. Ambre Dissous is a reflection of nature embraced, sometimes wild, but always sincere.

Tasting & pairings

By the glass, Ambre Dissous 2020 immediately captivates with its deep, almost violet color, hinting at a wine with a strong character. The nose is a poem of spices: freshly ground black pepper, clove, with a delicate note of violet as a subtle reminder of Rhône influences. On the palate, the structure is assertive, the tannins present yet elegantly polished, offering a mouthfeel that is both firm and silky.

This wine is not meant to flatter; it challenges, questions, and invites contemplation. It can be enjoyed as an aperitif, to awaken the taste buds, or at the table, alongside a generous dish: a matured rib of beef, a lamb tagine with prunes, or even a wild mushroom risotto.

Ambre Dissous is a wine for sharing, but also for meditation. A bottle that tells a story, that of a marginalized grape variety, a reinvented terroir, and a tribe that, far from the beaten track, forges its own path with heart and conviction.

Azienda Corvagialla

Vino Rosso Red 2017

€29,00

Vino Rosso Red 2017

Corva Gialla
Red fruits, mineral and earthy notes, tertiary aromas, spices, and tobacco: this sums up the profile of Vino Rosso, the emblematic red of Azienda Corva Gialla, with beautiful notes of evolution and a pronounced but not excessive full-bodiedness. The richness, due to a high natural sugar content during fermentation, and the polyphenolic maturity are remarkable, as well as the balance between velvety and tannicity, lightness and body, roundness and acidity. On the nose, notes of spices such as cinnamon, black pepper, and fennel; On the palate, the wine is full-bodied and dominated by red fruits: ripe cherry, raspberry and strawberry. Black fruits and plum are not left out, and delicious aromas of dried fruits (prune, fig) combine with spices on the finish. Vino Rosso is a 100% Sangiovese from vines planted at an altitude of 450 meters on a west-facing plot with volcanic soils. The harvest is destemmed and macerated for about three weeks in fiberglass vats, with daily pumping over or punching down as needed. Vino Rosso is aged for twelve months in chestnut barrels and at least two years in bottles before being marketed.

Find out more
The azienda Corva Gialla ("yellow crow") is a wine estate in Lazio, Italy, located on the edge of Umbria in the Alta Tuscia Viterbese. A volcanic region considered one of the most beautiful in Italy and characterized by its calanches, high tuff rock formations delimiting deep valleys carved by numerous rivers and torrents. Corva Gialla is located in Lubriano, opposite Civita di Bagnoregio. Alta Tuscia is proving to be a breeding ground for young winemaking talents devoted to nature who are promoting these lands deprived throughout history. Founded in 2017, the estate comprises four hectares cultivated by Beatrice Arweiler, originally from another wine-growing region, between the Rhine and the Moselle. The new owner also planted an olive grove (Frantoio and Leccino varieties) and developed the estate into a mixed crop and livestock system. The vines were planted with the help of Gian Marco Antonuzzi of the Le Coste estate. The friable volcanic soil lends itself beautifully to viticulture and the planting of grape varieties such as Grechetto d'Umbria, Trebbiano, Vermentino, Sangiovese, and Ciliegiolo. The estate's wines are quintessentially Italian, meaning they are crafted primarily for enjoyment. They are straightforward, deep, and easy to drink, expressing the strong minerality of their soils.

Azienda Corvagialla

Vino Rosso Poggio Pastene Red 2016

€49,00

Vino Rosso Poggio Pastene Red 2016,

Corva Gialla
Poggio Pastene is a superior red from the Corva Gialla range; it is produced only in the finest vintages and comes from the finest plot on the estate. It is dense and full-bodied, with a supple texture and well-integrated tannins, and superb accents of leather and tobacco. The nose is intense and persistent—notes of red fruits, rose, and violet. On the palate, the olfactory sensations are confirmed, supported by a beautiful structure. Poggio Pastene is dry and straightforward, well-balanced between roundness and acidity. This is a single-variety Sangiovese whose vines are planted at an altitude of 450 meters on a west-facing plot with volcanic soils. The harvest, done by hand, is destemmed and macerated for about three weeks on the skins in fiberglass vats, with daily pumping over or punching down as needed. Aging is twenty-four months in old oak barrels. Poggio Pastene is kept in bottle for two years before being marketed.

Find out more
The Azienda Corva Gialla (“yellow crow”) is a wine estate in Lazio, Italy, located on the edge of Umbria in the Alta Tuscia Viterbese. A volcanic region considered one of the most beautiful in Italy and characterized by its calanches, high tuff rock formations delimiting deep valleys carved by numerous rivers and torrents. Corva Gialla is located in Lubriano, opposite Civita di Bagnoregio. Alta Tuscia is a breeding ground for young winemaking talents dedicated to nature, who are reclaiming these historically neglected lands. Founded in 2017, the estate comprises four hectares cultivated by Beatrice Arweiler, originally from another wine-growing region, between the Rhine and the Moselle. The new owner has also planted an olive grove (Frantoio and Leccino varieties) and converted the estate into a mixed crop and livestock system. The vines were planted with the help of Gian Marco Antonuzzi of the Le Coste estate. The friable volcanic soil lends itself beautifully to viticulture and the planting of grape varieties such as Grechetto d'Umbria, Trebbiano, Vermentino, Sangiovese, and Ciliegiolo. The estate's wines are quintessentially Italian, meaning they are made primarily for enjoyment. They are straight, deep and easy to drink, expressing the strong minerality of their soils.

Magnum VN Vinel.lo Ancestral Sparkling Red 2016

Partida Creus

Magnum VN Vinel.lo Ancestral Sparkling Red 2016

€69,00

La Tribu Alonso

Ceci n'est pas un vin White 2023

€26,00

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.

Frank Cornelissen

Munjebel CR Red 2020

€89,25

Munjebel CR Red 2020

Cornelissen
Munjebel CR is a single-plot red cuvée, certified organic (Eurofeuille), biodynamic, and natural. It is made from pure Nerello Mascalese grapes by Frank Cornelissen in the PDO (Personal Designation of Origin) Etna Rosso/PGI Terre Siciliane Nerello Mascalese. Munjebel CR comes from the Campo Re plot, which is partially ungrafted and approximately 70 years old, located in the far west of the valley at an altitude of 735 meters. The soil is deep, and ripeness is difficult to achieve in wet years. This gives a particular character to the wines from this plot, closer to Nebbiolo (a typical Tuscan grape variety) than the other reds from Azienda Frank Cornelissen.

Vinification
Grown biodynamically, the Nerello Mascalese grapes of Munjebel CR are destemmed and lightly crushed. Fermentation, starting from a starter culture and using indigenous yeasts, is accompanied by a 50-day skin maceration. No fining, light filtration before bottling.

Tasting
Munjebel CR is a deep, elegant and tannic wine. It may take a while to express itself. With its great freshness, it needs to be paired with meats with character. A roast rack of black pork from Bigorre, or a rib of beef from Wagyu or Angus from the Maison Aitana, that's the perfect match.

Learn more about Frank Cornelissen
A key and universally respected figure in natural, organic and biodynamic wine, Belgian Frank Cornelissen, a winemaker conquered by Sicily, is a classic. This man of constant questioning lives in human and cosmic resonance with his terroir: he has demonstrated that the powerful minerality of a great volcanic soil could be highlighted by the naturalness of his wines.

An ideal terroir for plot-by-plot vinification
In Passopisciaro, Sicily, in the north of the Etna valley, the 19 plots cover 24 hectares of basalt soils spread over numerous localities (contrade) between 600 and 900 meters above sea level on the side of the volcano. It is, says Frank Cornelissen, the "Night Coast of Sicily". Frank Cornelissen's contrade are all cultivated biodynamically and vinified separately: he decides on the blends based on the quality of each.

The nobility of Nerello Mascalese
Nerello Mascalese is the dominant variety and alone makes up the greatest vintages. This traditional red grape variety from the northern Etna valley produces hypermineral wines due to its long growing cycle. Other grape varieties in the azienda: Nerello Capuccio, Minella Bianco, Minella Nera, Alicante Bouschet, Malvasia, Catarratto, Moscadella, Grecanico Dorato, Carricante…

Belly Wine Experiment

Grisou Rosé 2021

€47,00

Grisou Rosé 2021

Belly Wine Experiment
Complex, refreshing, unusual, and delicious… A rosé, obviously, but with a fairly solid structure. One might guess from its name that it's a vin gris, and its color gives us the final hint. Grisou is a vin gris (therefore) quite typical of Belly Wine's experimental passion, since it is made from Carignan from the South and Pinot Gris from Heiligenstein (Alsace) grown on clay-siliceous soils. Two very different terroirs are united in one wine. Let's remember that Grisou, like Rosé, is a still wine with a pale color made from black grapes in short maceration. Here, it's a little more complicated since two-thirds of the grapes are directly pressed, the remaining third being crushed in whole bunches and macerated for four days. Disgorging takes place two months later. This wine is organically grown and has received no chemical inputs or sulfites, in the vineyard or in the cellar. As it plays on several levels, both light and straightforward, Grisou can allow for very wide pairings.

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 a winemaking business. The creative duo has it in spades: 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 uniqueness of Belly Wine Experiment is the exoticism (in the literal sense) of the blends, with Xarel lo from Catalonia, for example, being able to sit alongside 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.

Partida Creus

GT Garrut Ancestral Sparkling Red 2019

€28,00

GT Garrut Ancestral Sparkling Red 2019

Partida Creus

With its liveliness and deep notes of black fruit, GT Garrut Ancestral recalls the best of Lambrusco, but it is something else entirely. It is an atypical but oh-so-delightful single-varietal wine that deserves a closer look at its original character. Its purplish color with an exuberant pink foam, already expressing notes of blackberry on the nose, is already quite a program. GT Garrut displays beautiful earthy, juicy, and intense qualities; it is very characteristic of black fruits, particularly blackberry (blackberry or tree blackberry). Beautiful notes of red fruits too, and a delicious acidity. It is made entirely from Garrut, also called Monastrell, a Catalan grape variety related to Mourvèdre. This bright, summer-perfect wine is hand-harvested. Entirely destemmed, the grapes macerate for three days with punching down every three hours, and alcoholic fermentation with indigenous yeasts takes place for four months in stainless steel vats, followed by twenty months in oak barrels. Unfiltered, unfined, no sulfites added. GT Garrut smells of family vines, artisanal, unconstrained wine.

Find out more
Partida Creus is an important estate, both in terms of winemaking and history—we're talking about the history of the vine in Catalonia. Massimo Marchiori and Antonella Gerosa, originally from Piedmont—and even from the Langhe region, where wine is well-versed—first pursued careers as architects in Barcelona. But the wine bug tickled them, and they soon abandoned the big city and its sophistication for the vineyards of southern Catalonia, in Bonastre in Baix-Penedés. There they found a number of abandoned vineyards planted with a dizzying diversity of traditional Catalan grape varieties, which they passionately revived to save these varieties—and their wines—from oblivion. For them, it's not just a matter of saving their heritage, no: it's a matter of taste and nature. Of natural wines, which they will never stop making from now on on these sandy, poor, clay-limestone or clay-gravel soils, poor and poorly irrigated, where the vines suffer to produce their best juice. Massimo and Antonella practice organic, biodynamic, entirely manual and natural viticulture in order to give new life to these wines. Vinyater, sumoll, garrut, monastrell, ull de perdiu, ull de llebre, sumoll, queixal de llop, cariñena, trepat, ceciat parent, maccabeu, parellada, pansé, vinel·lo, bobal, cartoixà vermell or xarel·lo: it is a true conservatory of the native Catalan grape varieties that Partida Creus cares for. There is also Moscatel, Grenache, Merlot and Cabernet (among others). Few wineries can boast of growing so many different grape varieties. The wines reflect this diversity, with winemakers striving to best convey the signature of the soil and the grape variety: single varietals are common among them, alongside very rich blends, all in the styles dear to Catalonia: still wine, "ancestral" sparkling wine, and even vermouth. The bottles themselves are works of art: bare glass, simply marked with two large stenciled initials that indicate the cuvée. The wines, fresh, vibrant, lush but always straightforward and impeccably juicy and fruity, breathe life. The arrival of a Partida Creus at the table always elicits cries of satisfaction.

Partida Creus

Magnum BB "Hondos" Red 2018

€77,00

Magnum BB "Hondos" Red 2018

Partida Creus
Antonella Gerosa and Massimo Marchiori, originally from Piedmont—and even from the Langhe region, where wine is well-known—first pursued careers as architects in Barcelona. But the wine bug bit them, and they soon abandoned the big city and its sophistication for the vineyards of southern Catalonia, in Bonastre in Baix-Penedés. There, they found a wealth of abandoned vineyards planted with a dizzying diversity of traditional Catalan grape varieties, which they passionately revived to save these varieties—and their wines—from oblivion. For them, it's not just a matter of heritage rescue, no: it's a matter of taste and nature. Of natural wines, which they will continue to make from now on on these sandy, poor, clay-limestone or clay-gravel soils, poor and poorly irrigated, where the vines suffer to give their best juice. This is why their estate is as important from a winemaking perspective as it is from a historical perspective - we are talking here about the history of the vine in Catalonia.
Massimo and Antonella practice organic, biodynamic viticulture, entirely manual and natural in order to give new life to these wines. Vinyater, sumoll, garrut, monastrell, ull de perdiu, ull de llebre, sumoll, queixal de llop, cariñena, trepat, subirat parent, maccabeu, parellada, pansé, vinel.lo, bobal, cartoixà vermell or xarel.lo: Partida Creus is a veritable conservatory of native Catalan grape varieties. It also grows moscatel, grenache, merlot and cabernet (among others). Few wineries can boast growing so many different grape varieties. The wines reflect this diversity, with the winemakers striving to best convey the signature of the soil and the grape variety: single-variety wines are common among them, alongside extensive blends, all in the styles dear to Catalonia: still wine, "ancestral" sparkling wine, and even vermouth. The bottles themselves are works of art: bare glass, simply marked with two large stenciled initials that denote the vintage. The wines, fresh, vibrant, lush but always straightforward and impeccably juicy and fruity, breathe life. The arrival of a Partida Creus at the table always elicits exclamations of joy. This 100% Bobal is a racy and finely wild red from the Hondos plot, built on a grape variety common in Spain but whose expression is very original here. Dark cherry red color; on the nose, candy, sweet flowers, fresh fruits, violet, thyme. On the palate, a lot of distinction: a straight acidity and morello cherry, ripe plum, black pepper, a small saline touch on the finish. Serve well chilled.

Domaine Le temps retrouvé