France

Volnay Qvevris Rouge 2019,

Domaine de Chassorney
Through his entirely natural work, Frédéric Cossard gives voice to the terroirs and Burgundy wines, undistorted by agricultural chemicals. Having observed, during his years of trading, the existence of harmful viticultural practices, the winemaker used this counterexample to practice unadulterated viticulture. Thus, he produces vintages of purity and elegance without artifice that are among the most sought-after in Burgundy. Frédéric worked for some time as a wine broker before creating the Chassorney estate with his partner Laure 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 wine trading house and buys organic grapes to vinify, according to his style and convictions, great vintages such as Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet, Chassagne-Montrachet, Pommard, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Chambolle-Musigny, Vosne-Romanée and several Beaujolais crus. The exercise is not limited to Burgundy, as vintages are made from grapes purchased in the Jura or Languedoc regions. At his place, the work of the soil and vines is done as naturally as possible: regular plowing by horse, no addition of chemical fertilizers or weedkillers. The vines are cared for according to the principles of biodynamics: homeopathic treatments based on essential oils, copper, and sulfur in minimal doses. The harvest is entirely manual, carried out at full maturity, at the end of October. Reds or whites, classic Burgundies or more atypical or less "regional" bottles, Frédéric's vintages are rare and sought-after wines, which sometimes require waiting.
The AOC Volnay is perched on the heights of the Côte de Beaune. This wine comes from the Lurets plot, a steep terroir, facing west-southeast and located between 230 and 280 meters above sea level. The soils are mainly limestone, stony, ferruginous and reddish, and nourish magnificent vines of around fifty years old. The grapes macerate in whole bunches. The aging is about a year in barrels. The nose of black cherry delights, followed by candied fruits and peppery and sweet spices. On the palate, this wine is fresh, elegant, still full of Cossard-style fruit and silky tannins: the aging in qvevri (Georgian-style buried jars) highlights and amplifies this silky texture.
Natural wine with no added sulfites.

Je t'ai dans la peau White 2017,

Nicolas Chemarin

Nicolas Chemarin, nicknamed P’tit Grobis as a resident of Marchampt (Beaujolais), is the fourth generation of winegrowers on his family estate in the Beaujolais-Villages appellation, on stony land where he crafts wines of surprising depth and sincerity. He took over two hectares of his father's vines in 2005 and produced his first vintages in 2006. In 2008, he acquired other vineyards and decided to devote himself solely to his estate, whose very steep terroir consists of poor, rocky soils on gray granite rock. The vines rest on the bedrock through very thin soil, and their roots plunge deep into the rock. Depending on the configuration of the soil, the vines are pruned in goblet form or raised on stakes. Their average age is eighty years. The grape varieties, Gamay and Chardonnay, are classically Beaujolais. Nicolas also cultivates two other terroirs in the Régnié appellation: Les Bullats, with light, filtering sandy soils, and La Haute Ronze, very close to Morgon, whose deeper, clayey soils produce full-bodied wines. The wines undergo long macerations (from 18 to 30 days) with punching down and temperature control (Nicolas works cold, around 20 °C). The aging is partially done in thermoregulated concrete vats for a third, the remaining two thirds being spent in barrels of four to ten wines to provide oxygenation but little or no woody sensation. Nicolas Chemarin is already well known in the natural world for his sweet and fruity vintages, wines for pleasure, and for wines from difficult and magnificent terroirs, endowed with admirable and complex mineral, aromatic and spicy notes. As its name suggests, Je t’ai dans la peau is a matter of epidermis. Grape skin, of course, since it is a maceration white, an experiment carried out by Nicolas with various nuances since 2009 to obtain wines with a strong personality. The goal isn't to produce exuberant orange wines like those from Italy or the South, but rather controlled macerations with fruit and depth. The harvest comes from the same plot as P'tit Grobis Blanc: all Chardonnay, of course, on stony granite soils. The 2017 vintage is produced using pure maceration. This maceration is short: five to seven days. Aging is three years in barrels. This orange offers a beautiful old-gold color and delicately oxidative notes of walnut and hazelnut, leading to an exotic fruity palette. A superb balance to savor.

Chassornade Blanc Pétillant 2019,

Frédéric Cossard
Through his entirely natural work, Frédéric Cossard gives voice to the terroirs and Burgundy wines, undistorted by agricultural chemicals. Having observed, during his years of trading, the existence of harmful viticultural practices, the winemaker used this counterexample to practice unadulterated viticulture. Thus, he produces vintages of purity and elegance without artifice that are among the most sought-after in Burgundy. Frédéric worked as a wine broker for some time before creating the Chassorney estate with his partner Laure 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 wine trading house and buys organic grapes to vinify, according to his style and convictions, great vintages such as Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet, Chassagne-Montrachet, Pommard, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Chambolle-Musigny, Vosne-Romanée and several Beaujolais crus. The practice is not limited to Burgundy since vintages are made from grapes purchased in the Jura or Languedoc. At his place, the work of the soil and the vines is done as naturally as possible: regular plowing by horse, no addition of chemical fertilizers or weedkillers. The vines are cared for according to the principles of biodynamics: homeopathic treatments based on essential oils, copper and sulfur in minimal doses. The harvest is entirely manual, carried out at full maturity, at the end of October. Red or white, classic Burgundies or more atypical or less "regional" bottles, Frédéric's vintages are rare and coveted wines, which sometimes need to be waited for.
Aligoté was the first white grape variety of Burgundy - well before Chardonnay - and it deserves to regain its nobility. Vinifying it as a natural sparkling wine is not a bad idea, quite the contrary: the round, pleasant and fruity notes (lemon) of the grape variety stand out elegantly. Absolutely delicious.
Natural wine with no added sulfites.

Magnum Blanc 2019,

La Sorga
Antony Tortul loves old vineyards: he devotes his life to finding and vinifying them. Just as there are landless shepherds, he can be defined as a landless winegrower, in other words, a wine merchant whose scope extends throughout Languedoc and, eastward, as far as Châteauneuf-du-Pape, in search of the best terroirs. Born in Foix, with six years of experience as a viticultural technician and oenologist in various vineyards in the south of France, he founded La Sorga in 2008. His enthusiasm leads him on a path filled with love at first sight, and each of these loves is a vineyard. The result is a stunning mosaic of natural, lively, and spirited wines, reinvented each year with around thirty cuvées per vintage. Few winemakers can include such a variety of grape varieties: the entire south of France is included, with muscats, grenaches, picpoul, mauzac, carignan, cinsault, marsanne, alicante, braucol, duras, viognier, len-de-l’el, and all the rest.
Natural wine with no added sulfites.
Quite simply called “white,” because it’s white. Is that all? The reality is much more complex. This wine comes from a terroir of puddings located in Castelreng, in the Limoux valley. It is composed entirely of yellow mauzac (thirty-year-old vines). The harvest is carried out in two selections, then goes through direct pressing without settling. The aging, on lees, continues for eight months in vats. Puddingstone is agglomerated pebbles, a soil of fluvial origin: this pebbles is beautifully reflected in the nose of this wine, all white flowers, with notes of lemon and green apple. The palate is extremely refreshing and remarkably mineral (still the pebbles), with a complex and floral finish of white fruits. This white is wonderfully pure, it's rock water, it can accompany a declaration of love if you want to illustrate the purity of your feelings. In other circumstances, serve it with anything fish. It can be kept for around ten years.

Finisterra White 2019,

Jean-Marc Dreyer

Aromatic and floral, full of citrus peel and tropical fruits, Finisterra is a sort of quintessential Alsace wine, a rare and refined vintage of captivating complexity. Lychee, passion fruit, white flowers, ginger, and yellow rose, on an aromatic background of beeswax. This wine has balsamic accents of waxed old wood and yellow fruits (peach), spices, on a delicate mineral framework of tannins reminiscent of Chinese oolong tea. The secret? Jean-Marc Dreyer blended five grape varieties—Riesling, Muscat, Pinot Gris, Auxerrois, and Gewurztraminer—to create this skin-macerated cuvée with structure, oxidative notes, and a deep amber color. It will pair very well with roast poultry, game, and anything related to duck or goose: duck breasts, duck with blood, roast duckling, confit, and foie gras. We also imagine it with well-simmered wild mushrooms. A wine to enjoy after an autumn walk. Biodynamic method, fermentation using indigenous yeasts, unfiltered, unclarified, with no sulfites added in the vineyard or cellar.

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"Maceration is a tradition in Alsace!" says Jean-Marc Dreyer, adding that direct pressing in this region is a modern invention, linked to the advent of electricity. In the past, people worked by hand and let the grapes macerate before sending the marc to the press. » Whole-bunch maceration is Jean-Marc Dreyer's signature and represents 85% of the estate's production, the remainder consisting of direct-pressed whites, often aged using controlled oxidation. Jean-Marc succeeds several generations of his family at the Dreyer & Fils estate, established in 1830 between Obernai and Molsheim. Upon taking over the estate, he immediately opted for biodynamics, but he hesitated for a while between several methods: at first, his wines were more oaky, aged in new barrels with stirring. Then came the sweet period: all his wines contained residual sugar. In 2008, he tried vinifying without any sulfur and found his direction: the following winter, upon returning from the pilgrimage to Compostela, he swore never to add sulfur to any wine again. Having made this decision, he asserts his style around skin maceration, quite advanced, chiseled, always surprising on Alsatian grape varieties, of which it brings out the structure without sacrificing the delicacy. Jean-Marc works in single-varietal or blended vintages and also produces Pinot Noir reds of surprising depth.

Funambule Sparkling White 2019, Château Lafitte
A 100% natural sparkling wine made from Gros Manseng, straight from the extraordinary Jurançon vineyard, Funambule holds its own. The nose is immediately captivated by a great aromatic freshness that continues on the palate with euphoric notes of lemon and mandarin. A perfect balance of solidity and delicacy, it accompanies a meal from aperitif to dessert.
Natural wine with no added sulfites.

Goes with: Charcuterie, Hard cheeses

Le Litre Arbitre White 2019

Château Lafitte

Pairs with: Oysters and Shellfish, Raw Fish, Cooked Fish, Grilled Fish

Vieille Vigne Rouge 2019

Domaine Bois Moisset

Nestled in Occitanie, this cuvée Vieille Vigne Falgueyras from Domaine Bois Moisset is a beautiful expression of Syrah from its Tarn terroir. Made from old vines aged 30 and 40 years old, planted on boulbène and gravel soils, this natural wine is vinified with a minimalist and respectful approach.

A vintage marked by balance

2019 was anything but a restful year: after a few episodes of hail in the spring, the hot summer was punctuated by beneficial storms in July and August, ensuring the grapes reached beautiful maturity. Harvested on September 19, the Syrah was destemmed and then macerated for a month in concrete vats, with two punchings to gently extract color and structure. Fermentation took place without the addition of sulfites, at a temperature not exceeding 23 °C, thus preserving all the freshness of the fruit. After aging for nine months in vats, the wine was bottled unfiltered to preserve its purest expression.

A delicious wine full of character

On tasting, Vieille Vigne Falgueyras reveals a fruity and charming profile. Its deep, dark color announces an intense nose of blackcurrant, blackberry, and morello cherry, accompanied by a peppery touch typical of Syrah. On the palate, the attack is full and juicy, offering a beautiful balance between indulgence and freshness. The tannins are fine and silky, giving way to a savory and persistent finish.

Pairings and tasting moments

This accessible and convivial red is ideal for casual meals as well as large gatherings with friends. It will pair perfectly with charcuterie, grilled meats, pizzas, Mediterranean dishes, or even a good summer barbecue. Enjoy slightly chilled to enhance its freshness and fruitiness.

Magnum P'tit Nouveau Gamay - Red - 2019

Vincent Wallard
This is an all-gamay carbonic maceration extracted from grapes from the Jean-François Debourg estate in southern Beaujolais. Fresh and crisp, it offers beautiful notes of red fruits (cherry). Decanting is required to allow its sweet and gourmet qualities to express themselves.
Natural wine with no added sulfites.

Syrah Rouge 2017

Domaine des Miquettes

Syrah of course, bursting with fruit and flavor, from an isolated one-hectare plot on granite and black mica soils, at an altitude of 350 meters.
Natural wine with no added sulfites.

Hautes côtes de Beaune Puits de Chaux Rouge 2018, Frédéric Cossard
This Pinot Noir comes from the Puits de Chaux plot in Hautes Côtes de Beaune. The hilly, west-facing terroir is located between 280 and 450 meters above sea level. The soils are dominated by marl formations and limestone scree. The grapes macerate in whole bunches. Aging is approximately one year in barrels. The wine is subtle, airy, with great aromatic expression.
Natural wine with no added sulfites.

Orange Blanc 2018, Chateau Lafitte
This Orange cuvée is made from Petit Manseng, the emblematic grape variety of Jurançon. It is macerated for 21 days in terracotta jars, which gives it this beautiful tawny color, this powerful nose and these supple and melting tannins. A real treasure to keep for up to ten years in the cellar (if you can still do that).

Natural wine with no added sulfites

Mezcal Nuestra Soledad d’Oaxaca
Mezcal, a wild agave brandy, is typical of the Mexican province of Oaxaca and is beginning to enjoy great international success, which has led to a certain industrialization of its production. This one (41°) has been produced since 1887 by the Cortes family using traditional methods and made by El Jolgorio, master distiller. The agave hearts of the espadine variety are cooked in pit ovens over mesquite and oak wood, which gives the mezcal its characteristic smoky flavor. After cooking, the agave is fermented in open-air tanks and then distilled in a copper still.
This elegant and peppery artisanal spirit, with its unique flavor qualities, is already excellent neat, but make it into a margarita and you'll have a hard time going back to tequila (no disrespect to this excellent spirit).

Cloche et Fausset Perry 2011, Eric Bordelet

Natural wine with no added sulfites.

Magnum Charpenay White 2017

Domaine de La Gapette

One of those pure (and all too rare) Beaujolais whites! A 100% Chardonnay from vines planted on the granite and sandy soils around Mont Brouilly. On both the nose and palate, the Charpenay cuvée captivates with beautiful notes of freshly picked white fruits and a slightly honeyed finish.
A natural wine with no added sulfites.

Coyade White 2015

Domaine Vinci

A voluptuous southern white wine born from a blend of Macabeu, Grenache Blanc, and Carignan Blanc planted in the Agly Valley, in the heart of Roussillon, Coyade comes from vines grown on a predominantly clay-limestone terroir. Malolactic fermentation took place in stainless steel vats, and the three grape varieties were vinified separately before being blended. The color is intense and golden, with notes of straw and honey on the nose, and a slight oxidation on the palate that pairs perfectly with hard cheeses.

Natural wine with no added sulfites.