France

Burgundy Bigotes Qvevris White 2022,

Frédéric Cossard

With the Burgundy Bigotes Qvevris White 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.

Saint Joseph Cuvée Madloba Red 2014,

Domaine des Miquettes

From the prestigious AOP Saint-Joseph, Domaine des Miquettes offers us a unique cuvée with its Saint-Joseph Cuvée Madloba 2014. Certified organic (Eurofeuille, All our organic wines), this wine is made from Syrah grown on steep terroirs in the northern Rhône, offering a pure and intense expression of the grape variety.

A Georgian-inspired vinification

This cuvée bears the name "Madloba," which means "thank you" in Georgian, a nod to an ancestral winemaking method. The wine is aged in qvevris (buried amphorae), which gives it a beautiful aromatic depth and a silky texture, while preserving its natural and authentic character.

An intense nose and a structured palate

Upon opening, this organic Saint-Joseph reveals a deep and complex nose, marked by notes of ripe black fruits (blackcurrant, blackberry), violet and spices. On the palate, the attack is ample and velvety, with a well-integrated tannic structure and a long finish with slightly smoky and mineral accents.

For what occasion?

Served at 16-18°C and decanted before tasting, this wine is the perfect accompaniment to grilled red meats, game in sauce or stewed dishes with mild spices. With an aging potential of 5 to 10 years, it will evolve towards even more complex aromas over time.

Fleurie Red 2021,

Domaine Bélicard

Within the Fleurie AOP appellation, renowned for its fine and elegant wines, Domaine Bélicard, certified organic (AB, Eurofeuille), produces a cuvée that expresses all the delicacy of Gamay Noir. Produced from 38-year-old vines rooted in granite soils, this 2021 vintage stands out for its freshness and tangy character.

A Fleurie of finesse and freshness

Vinified using the traditional Beaujolais method, with whole-bunch maceration, this wine benefits from gentle extraction, preserving all the purity of the fruit. The 10-month barrel aging brings complexity and elegance, while respecting the natural expression of the terroir.

A vibrant nose and an airy palate

Upon opening, this organic Fleurie reveals a fresh and delicious nose, marked by tangy notes of crisp red fruits, evoking raspberry and redcurrant. On the palate, the attack is lively and silky, offering a beautiful mineral tension and an elegant and persistent finish.

Served at 14-16°C, this Fleurie AOP is ideal for a refined aperitif, summer barbecues or a gourmet salad. Its freshness makes it a perfect companion for convivial moments, and its aging potential of 5 years will allow it to evolve towards even more subtle aromas.

Morgon Terrain Rouge 2021,

Domaine Bélicard
In the heart of Beaujolais, Morgon AOP is an appellation renowned for its deep, structured wines with excellent aging potential. Domaine Bélicard, certified organic (AB, Eurofeuille), delivers an exceptional cuvée from 61-year-old vines planted on schist and volcanic soils, giving the wine superb complexity.

A distinguished and delicious Morgon
Vinified using semi-carbonic maceration of whole bunches, without destemming, this 100% Gamay Noir benefits from a natural approach that fully respects the expression of the terroir. The 6-month aging in wooden vats refines its tannins and preserves all the freshness of the fruit.

A vibrant nose and an elegant palate
Upon opening, this organic Morgon seduces with a delicate nose, revealing notes of crisp red fruits, with a beautiful freshness characteristic of the vintage. On the palate, the attack is silky and juicy, offering a body full of finesse and indulgence. The finish is long, revealing a subtle minerality and a beautiful aromatic depth.

How to enjoy this wine?
Served at 14-16°C, this wine can be enjoyed as an aperitif or at a barbecue, where its supple tannins perfectly accompany grilled red meat or spicy dishes. It also pairs well with gourmet salads and dishes with Mediterranean accents. With an aging potential of 5 years, it will evolve towards more complex aromas over time.

Beaujolais Villages Rouge 2022,

Domaine Bélicard


This organic Beaujolais Villages, vinified naturally using semi-carbonic maceration, highlights all the deliciousness of Gamay Noir. Grown on granite soils, its 54-year-old vines give the wine beautiful depth.

A natural wine bursting with fruit
Whole-bunch vinification and aging in wooden vats for one month allow the primary aromas of the grape variety to be brought out. Natural sedimentation without filtration guarantees a pure and vibrant wine.

An intense nose and an explosive palate
This Beaujolais Villages AOP is distinguished by an expressive nose of cherry, redcurrant, and kirsch, with a hint of spice. The palate is a veritable firework of red fruits, with a fresh and juicy finish.
Served at 14-16°C, it can be enjoyed as an aperitif or with simple, convivial dishes.

Disco (Eau de vie)

Distillerie du Viaduc


Distillerie du Viaduc, a young artisan house from the Paris region, offers us a bold and festive interpretation of wine brandy with Disco. Made from the Muscat Petit Grain grape variety, this unique cuvée reinvents the traditional Peruvian Pisco with a decidedly funky and floral approach.

A vibrant and aromatic eau-de-vie
Produced from Muscat Petit Grain grapes from the island of Samos, vinified by the talented Patrick Bouju, this eau-de-vie benefits from a careful double distillation. Without aging, it expresses all the purity of the fruit and retains a great aromatic intensity. Its profile is at once rich, floral and elegant, with a beautiful roundness in the mouth and a lingering finish.

A captivating nose and a smooth palate
From the first nose, Disco reveals an expressive bouquet with notes of white flowers, white-fleshed fruits and delicate honey. On the palate, it combines finesse and intensity, with a gentle attack, followed by a rise in power marked by a beautiful controlled warmth. The finish, long and aromatic, leaves a delicately sweet and floral imprint.

How to enjoy Disco?
With its 40° alcohol content, this eau-de-vie is ideal as a digestif, served neat to appreciate all its complexity. It is also perfectly suited to mixology, where its floral and fruity aromas will enhance refined cocktails such as a revisited Pisco Sour or an aromatic white Martini.

CC Blanc 2022,

Patrick Bouju

Auvergne Chardonnay in its finest expression
With the CC 2022 vintage, Patrick Bouju offers a natural Chardonnay produced with respect for the volcanic terroir of the Auvergne region. Vinified using direct pressing and aged for 15 months in stainless steel vats, this wine captures the purity and energy of the region's clay-limestone and basalt soils.

Tasting: Defined elegance
The CC 2022 seduces with its delicate aromas of white fruits, citrus fruits, and vine flowers. On the palate, a beautiful liveliness is balanced by a subtle roundness. The finish, saline and mineral, reflects the unique character of the Auvergne terroir.

Food and wine pairing: subtlety and finesse
This Chardonnay will pair perfectly with grilled fish, seafood or creamy dishes like a parmesan risotto. It can also enhance soft cheese or roast poultry.

Aging potential
Enjoy it now, but it can also be kept for up to 5 years, to gain depth and complexity.

Fleckstein 2023 White 2023,

Domaine Einhart

A mineral and complex Riesling from an exceptional terroir
The Fleckstein 2023, from Domaine Einhart, is a superb expression of Riesling from clay-limestone soil, enhanced by artisanal vinification. After a low-temperature pre-fermentation maceration, designed to preserve the purity of the aromas while structuring the wine, this iconic grape variety was aged for one year in a sandstone egg. This unique container allows for a subtle exchange with the air, enhancing the wine's depth and texture while maintaining its freshness.

On the nose, this Riesling reveals an elegant aromatic blend of citrus, white peach, and white flower notes, enhanced by a flinty minerality typical of the terroir. On the palate, the attack is lively and crystalline, offering a beautiful tension supported by fruity flavors and dense salivation. The finish, long and marked by subtle bitters, allows the typicality of the limestone to fully express itself, with a horizontality and structure that enchants the taste buds.

Refined gastronomic pairings
The Fleckstein 2023 pairs wonderfully with seafood, shellfish, or raw fish such as ceviche or sea bream tartare. It will also enhance white meats and fresh cheeses. Its great liveliness and aromatic complexity make it an ideal choice for special occasions or gourmet meals.

Serve between 8 and 10°C after decanting to reveal all its richness, this Riesling is a wine for laying down, which will evolve gracefully over the years.

Calvados "Premium 20 Years"

Domaine de la Flaguerie
Calvados Premium 20 Years is an amber treasure, aged for two decades in oak barrels. It reveals powerful aromas of caramelized fruit, baked apple, and smoked wood, with a long finish. Best reserved for after-dinner drinks, this exceptional spirit is best enjoyed gently warmed in the glass to savor all its aromatic nuances.

Calvados "Premium 6 Years"

Domaine de la Flaguerie
The Calvados Premium 6 Years seduces with its golden color and fruity aromas of fresh apples. Aged in barrels for six years, it reveals floral and minty notes on the nose. On the palate, its straightforward attack gives way to a beautiful tonicity and a spicy finish.
Versatile, this Calvados can be enjoyed neat, over ice, or in cocktails, and embodies traditional Norman expertise.

Zestes d'Amour Bitter Orange Eau-de-vie,

Sentema Distillery

An explosion of citrus in an exceptional spirit

Les Zestes d’Oranges Amères, carefully distilled from organic Provence wine eau-de-vie, captures the essence of bitter oranges from Le Castellet and sweet oranges from Menton. Less sweet than a classic liqueur, this deeply aromatic spirit evokes the great classic of "triple sec", revisited here with finesse and modernity.

Delicious on its own over ice, with tonic or in cocktails, it brightens up any occasion with its freshness and complexity.

To find out more

The Sentema Distillery offers exceptional spirits, created on an eau-de-vie of organic Provence wines, distilled by hand on copper pot stills, made entirely with French plants and fruits, for unique recipes with frank and natural flavors.

Magnum Cuvée 0.72+ (exclusive cuvée) White 2019,

De Vini

A natural and bold tribute to the Melon de Bourgogne
Christophe Bosque's Cuvée 0.72+ White 2019 is an elegant reinvention of the Melon de Bourgogne, the emblematic Muscadet grape variety. Although classified as a Vin de France, this natural wine, produced from vines grown on gabbro soils in the heart of the Nantes region, offers a sensory experience close to the best Muscadets, while freeing itself from the constraints of the appellation. Fermented without additives or added sulfites, this dry wine is a true expression of the terroir of Maisdon-sur-Sèvre, where gabbro and granite give the wine a remarkable mineral liveliness and depth.

Artisan vinification, traditional aging
Vinified in buried cement vats, according to the traditional method of the region, the Cuvée 0.72+ has benefited from an extended aging of one year on lees. This method gives the wine a silky texture and a unique aromatic complexity. Christophe Bosque, passionate about the expression of the terroir and a follower of natural practices, makes every effort to preserve the authenticity of this vibrant and balanced white.

An ideal companion to seafood
The tasting reveals a clear and bright color, accompanied by a fresh nose where aromas of citrus, green apple and saline notes mingle. On the palate, the wine seduces with its lively acidity, its marked minerality and a slightly iodized finish. Perfect to accompany oysters, raw or smoked fish, as well as seafood, it is ideally enjoyed between 10 and 12°C.

With an aging potential of several years, the Cuvée 0.72+ Blanc 2019 is a rare pearl for lovers of natural and expressive wines, uniting tradition and modernity in a 150 cl bottle perfect for sharing.

Organic Copalli Barrel Rested Rum

L'explorateur du Goût

Certified organic from soil to bottle (Eurofeuille label), Copalli Barrel-Rested Rum Organic is an organic amber rum from the tropical forests of Belize, a green and preserved environment. It is the same rum as Copalli White Rum Organic after a few months of aging in oak barrels. Copalli Distillery, founded by Will Maheia and Todd Robinson, supports local communities by being the largest employer in southern Belize through its Copal Tree sugarcane plantation, distillery, and lodge. The cane varieties are traditional (noble cane and black cane), and all cultivation and manufacturing waste is recycled on the plantation. Copalli, in addition to protecting the environment, subsidizes the education of its employees' children.

Production

After double distillation in a pot still (a Charentais-style copper still), this pure cane juice rum (as opposed to the less rare molasses rums), entirely organic, is aged for eight months in bourbon barrels. Copalli Barrel-Rested Rum is made from only four ingredients: organic sugarcane, pure canopy water, local yeasts, and barrel wood with its bourbon aromas.

Tasting

Incredibly aromatic. Deep, clear amber color, with a nose of Chinese oolong tea and precious wood. This Copalli Barrel-Rested Rum opens with woody notes on the nose and palate: green, cocoa bean, leather, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, tobacco, hot powder, sandalwood, and oud wood. The finish is long, rich, and complex. A rum to drink on its own or in a cocktail. It can also accompany a spicy meal. If you use it in cooking, be careful: consider it as a spice and not as an alcohol for pancakes.

L’Explorateur du goût: to find out more

This organic Copalli White Rum was selected by L’Explorateur du goût, a project by François Sommer in search of the best spirits from around the world. Its conditions: ecological concern (Bcorp label for compliance with social and environmental standards; organic certification for most of the references, etc.), attention to people and the terroir (solid and lasting relationships with producers), quality of products and taste, originality. In the catalog: French spirits (cognac, calvados, etc.) and exotic spirits (whisky, rum, mezcal, etc.), not to mention liqueurs and tonics. Enough to delight any bartender, amateur mixologist, or simply demanding consumer.

Cyprès de Toi Blanc 2023

Fond Cyprès
Discover "Cyprès de Toi 2023" from the Fond Cyprès estate, a natural white wine from Languedoc-Roussillon. Made from Grenache Blanc, this wine expresses the purity of its clay-limestone terroir and traditional winemaking methods that respect the integrity of the fruit.

A Natural and Authentic Vinification
This white wine is the result of direct-press vinification, followed by cold settling. Fermentation and aging take place in stainless steel vats for six months, thus preserving the freshness and liveliness of the Grenache Blanc. The exclusive use of indigenous yeasts underlines Fond Cyprès' minimalist approach, without the addition of additives or filtration. These respectful technical choices result in a wine of great purity, faithfully reflecting the characteristics of its terroir.

A Vibrant and Precise Tasting
To the eye, "Cyprès de Toi" reveals a luminous color with golden highlights, a sign of its youth and vitality. On the nose, fresh citrus aromas assert themselves with finesse, evoking lemon, grapefruit, and slightly floral notes. On the palate, the attack is frank and thirst-quenching, with a beautiful mineral tension that extends into a lively and refreshing finish. The balance between acidity and silky texture makes it a precise and harmonious wine, perfect for accompanying convivial moments.

Food and Wine Pairing
"Cyprès de Toi" pairs wonderfully with grilled fish, seafood, or summer salads. Its freshness and elegance also make it an ideal companion for a refined aperitif. Serve it between 10 and 12 degrees to fully appreciate its aromatic nuances.

Ageing and Serving
With an aging potential of 5 to 10 years, this wine can be enjoyed now for its freshness or waited to reveal more complex aromas. It does not require decanting.

i Vicini Moscato White 2022

Jean-Yves Péron

I Vicini Moscato is an organic, biodynamic, and natural macerated (orange) dry white wine from Jean-Yves Péron. Vinified in Savoie using Muscat d'Asti. It is part of the I Vicini series of cuvées, vinified in Savoie using organic grapes from Northern Italy.

Vinification

The Muscats in this I Vicini series grow on very fine, calcareous-magnesian limestone soils, on a particularly cool site. Harvested by hand at good phenolic maturity, they macerate for two months in vats on the skins with punching down. Aged for one year in 300-liter barrels. No filtration, fining, or addition of sulfites.

Tasting

Straightness, tension, and freshness: this beautiful Muscat d'Asti offers the aromatic and musky nose specific to the grape variety, without any syrupy notes. A very present tannic structure balances the whole. On the palate, it is rich and powerful; we find the charming scent of Muscat in the retro-olfaction, but with the tension and freshness that Jean-Yves Péron loves for his dry whites. It is a great table wine, not really for an aperitif, but for gastronomy, no limits.

Learn more about Jean-Yves Péron

Jean-Yves Péron talentedly embodies the organic, biodynamic, and natural renaissance of the Savoyard vineyard, which is based 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 follows the principles of minimal intervention. On narrow, steep slopes, his hand-worked mountain vines in micro-plots receive no 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 not fined or filtered.

Italo-Savoyard trade

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

i Vicini Barbera Red 2022

Jean-Yves Péron

I Vicini Barbera by Jean-Yves Péron is an organic, biodynamic, and natural red wine. It is vinified in Savoie from Barbera grapes harvested in Piedmont.

Vinification

Barbera is grown in Asti and Alba. The second most widely used red grape variety in Italy after Sangiovese, it produces full-bodied, colorful wines with red fruits. Harvested by hand, no sulfites added, no filtration, no fining. Both Barberas are macerated for three months with punching down and undergo a fifteen-day carbonic maceration. The wine is aged for one year in 300-liter barrels.

Tasting

This I Vicini Barbera is a great wine in every sense of the word. Long, very fruity, generous, deep, with superb acidity resulting from a moderately ripe harvest, it is both serious and joyful, intense and concentrated. Finesse, minerality, tension, a beautiful, intense and colorful red color: it begs to accompany fine cuts of meat and roasts.

Learn more about Jean-Yves Péron

Jean-Yves Péron is a talented embodiment of the organic, biodynamic, and natural renaissance of the Savoyard vineyard, which is based 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 follows the principles of minimal intervention. On narrow, steep slopes, his hand-worked mountain vines in micro-plots receive no 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 not fined or filtered.

Italo-Savoyard trade

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

Les Barrieux White 2022

Jean-Yves Péron

Organic, biodynamic, and natural, Les Barrieux is a dry white wine from Savoie produced by Jean-Yves Péron on the schist-limestone soils of his Albertville plots. Classified as a Vin de France, it is a rare cuvée made from the Roussanne grape variety.

Vinification

The vinification of Les Barrieux, produced by hand, begins with two weeks of carbonic maceration. Aging lasts one year in 12-hl tuns and 300-liter barrels. This wine has not been filtered, fined, or sulphites added.

Tasting

Les Barrieux by Jean-Yves Péron is a macerated white wine with wonderful notes of leather, smoke, and candied quince, followed by a complex floral and citrus olfactory bouquet and preceding a long aromatic finish. Delicious, rich, full-bodied, powerful, it is a gastronomic wine that can withstand anything. It can accompany everything.

Learn more about Jean-Yves Péron

Jean-Yves Péron is a talented embodiment of the organic, biodynamic, and natural renaissance of the Savoyard vineyard, which is based 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 follows the principles of minimal intervention. On narrow, steep slopes, his hand-worked mountain vines in micro-plots receive no 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 not fined or filtered.

Italo-Savoyard trade

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

Pause Rouge 2020

Les Chais du Port de la Lune
Pause is an organic and natural red wine vinified in Bordeaux by the Chais du Port de la Lune, a merchant winery. Like all of this estate's vintages, it is a blend whose name refers to a musical theme. Pause is classified as a Vin de France. A relatively old vintage, this is a rare cuvée, as it comes from a small yield.

Vinification
Pause, from the Chais du Port de la Lune, is a blend of Carignan from Limoux, Gamay from Beaujolais (Côtes-de-Brouilly) and Syrah from the Hautes Corbières.

Tasting
Freshness and liveliness characterize this natural red wine. It is balanced, digestible, fruity, powerful and intense. Robust and concentrated, it will keep for several years. It will go well with red meats, charcuterie, cured meats, and will be admirable as an aperitif.

Learn more about the Chais du Port de la Lune
Under this poetic name hides a wine merchant house run by two oenologist partners, Laurent and Annica. The winemaking and aging cellars are located in the same place, in Bacalan, a northern district of Bordeaux that has undergone massive renovation in recent years, including the construction of the Cité internationale du Vin.

All the terroirs of France
Bordeaux, of course, but also Frontonnais, Anjou, Beaujolais… The grapes come from everywhere, harvested from partner winegrowers working organically. They are transported to Bordeaux to be vinified and aged. This gives rise to atypical blends and varied vintages, each of which is a discovery.

Organic, artisanal and urban wine
All the grapes are organic, the winemaking methods are gentle and natural (adding inputs in small quantities and as a last resort), often natural (no addition of sulfites). Crushing is done by foot and pressing in a vertical press. Fine craftsmanship for pure and honest wines, as representative of their winegrowers and their terroirs as of an innovative approach in the ancient city of wine.

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.

Les Dorrées White 2020

La Grapperie

Les Dorrées (the name of the plot) is a dry white wine from the Coteaux du Loir, organic and natural (Ecocert), classified Vin de France. Its creator, Renaud Guettier of La Grapperie, made it entirely from Chenin. Depending on the vintage, it may or may not offer slightly overripe notes.

Vinification

Les Dorrées comes from the oldest Chenin Blanc vines on the estate (117 years old), planted on soils dominated by clay and flint over a limestone substrate. Hand-picked, organic and additive-free work in the vineyard and cellar, and aged for 24 months to refine and polish the wine.

Tasting

Les Dorrées is an exceptional white wine that bears the signature of La Grapperie Chenins: pure and enchanting, offering slightly oxidative, smoky, and mineral notes on the nose, and white fruits, quince, walnuts, and almonds on the palate with a saline finish of impressive length. It is a white wine with body and density, capable of supporting all taste pairings. We see it pairing well with a beautiful roast poultry, a rack of oven-roasted pork, or grilled lamb. It will also pair well with seafood: smoked salmon, oysters and shellfish, or goat cheese and rillettes from the Loire Valley.

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 vines, on the hillside, 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.