Gift Ideas for Rookies

Alsace 2023 White 2023,

Domaine Einhart

A tribute to traditional Alsace in a modern and refined cuvée
Théo Einhart's Alsace 2023 celebrates the original spirit of Alsace wines with a contemporary interpretation. A blend of Auxerrois, Muscat, Pinot Blanc, and Riesling, this organic AOP Alsace white wine is the result of carefully controlled pre-fermentation maceration and 8 months of aging in stainless steel vats on fine lees. Each grape variety is vinified separately, recalling traditional practices while adding a touch of modern precision.

On the nose, this cuvée reveals a delicate and seductive aromatic palette. Floral notes of white flowers and acacia harmoniously intertwine with fruity aromas of pear and peach. On the palate, the balance is perfect: a round and creamy texture supported by a saline liveliness, with a long and elegant finish that highlights the typicality of the clay-limestone soils.

A wine for sharing and conviviality
With its great drinkability and balance, the Alsace 2023 is a versatile wine that will delight all palates. It lends itself equally well to a convivial aperitif as to more refined meals. It pairs perfectly with fresh cheeses, raw fish, seafood, and even crunchy or roasted vegetables. Its roundness and freshness make it an ideal ally for Alsatian or Mediterranean dishes.

Served between 8 and 10°C and decanted before tasting, this wine will reveal all its nuances. With a 5-year aging potential, it can be enjoyed now or waited to gain complexity.

Oolithe Blanc 2022

Domaine Einhart
Oolithe is a dry, organic (Ecocert) and natural maceration wine from the Alsace terroir, produced without additives or sulfites by Domaine Einhart. This blended wine in the Vin de France category is named in homage to its shell limestone soil (oolitic limestone).

Vinification
On the silty muschelkalk soil that produced Oolithe (plots located in Weingarten and Oberer Altenberg) grow the four grape varieties that compose it: Sylvaner (30%), Auxerrois (25%), Gewurztraminer (20%) and Pinot Blanc (25%), all from old massal selections. The average age of the vines is forty-five years. The harvest, entirely manual, is destemmed, before a maceration of a few days on indigenous yeasts. Aging on fine lees, in stainless steel vats, before bottling without filtration. From the vine to the cellar, this wine was made without any additives or sulfites.

Tasting
Pretty pale apricot color. Beautiful minerality on the nose, freshness and straightforwardness. The olfactory sensation is enhanced by aromas of fresh apple. The second nose opens more fully with elderflower, lily of the valley and citrus peel. On the palate, the attack is lively, fresh and mineral, leading to a spicy and persistent finish. Decanting is recommended so that Oolithe fully expresses all its floral grace. Pair it with oysters and seafood, fish in all its forms and white meats.

Learn more about Domaine Einhart
In the northern part of the Alsatian vineyard, Domaine Einhart is a ten-hectare family estate whose vines grow on the foothills of the Vosges Mountains. The soil is clay-limestone and rich in fossils (muschelkalk, or shell limestone and oolite limestone, and lettenkohle or dolomitic limestone).

A family estate
Since 1990, Nicolas Einhart has been at the helm, now assisted by his son Théo. Faithful to his commitments to the TIFLO association, of which he is co-founder, Nicolas devotes his winemaking work to protecting the land and biodiversity, making wine without additives, refusing harmful phytosanitary products and maintaining ecological refuge areas. Its estate has been certified organic (Ecocert and AB) since 2011. The estate produces white wines from maceration or direct pressing and a Pinot Noir red.

The best of Alsatian terroirs
Entirely manual harvests, destemming of the bunches, light punching down and delicate pressing are characteristic of the estate, as well as the separate vinification of each terroir, aging on lees and the absence of filtration before bottling. The wines are pure grape, lively, powerful, invigorating, and transcribe the minerality of these very beautiful terroirs of the Vosges foothills.

Le Cordières des Andes Rouge 2021

Fond Cyprès
Balanced, rustic, deep, with a superb texture on the palate, the Cordières des Andes lingers on a fresh finish. This appellation, which plays playfully on words, includes the Corbières de Fond Cyprès, which has simply changed its name. You may therefore already know it by its former name. Far from any Andean references, this is a magnificent red wine, well-defined by its terroir, produced from a blend of equal parts Grenache du Bois Saint-Jaume, Carignan de la Source, and Syrah de la Pinède, vinified separately and blended in barrels. Offering great aging potential, it is perfect for drinking or keeping. This classified Vin de France vintage is refined, chiseled, and lovingly crafted; it can be described as the synthesis of the estate that gave birth to it. Serve it with anything good you have; it has a very broad back when it comes to pairings.

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This Languedoc estate is built on solid foundations: its two winemakers, Rodolphe and Laetitia, are also descendants of winemakers. Even before planting their first vine, they already had a clear objective: "to produce southern wines that reflect us, wines with character, attached to our soils, with freshness and refined tannins." They want to obtain entirely natural wines, concentrates of terroir. In the old Corbières massif, they took over an old heart of an estate already planted with abandoned Carignan and Grenache vines, which had seen neither fertilizer nor pesticides for years: these clean and vibrant soils are ideal conditions for launching into natural wine. Around this historic heart, they first planted Grenache Noir and Syrah, then a plot of white grape varieties: Viognier, Grenache Blanc, Roussanne. The estate has been Ecocert certified since 2010 and also complies with the Nature & Progrès charter. Vinification is carried out without the addition of sulfites or exogenous yeasts. "We make wines for pleasure," say Laetitia and Rodolphe. For them, natural wine is first evaluated by taste, from the harvest. The vintages closely follow the plots, the musts are fruity, fluid, and complex. Fond Cyprès wines poetically evoke the estate's ecosystem and the vegetation that protects the plots: pine forests, shaded springs, the beauty of the natural environment that brings freshness to the wines and leaves the signature of the soil. Deliciously balanced between mineral imprint, plant environment and fruit expression, Fond Cyprès wines reflect the South: the caress of its sun, but also the freshness of its shadows.

XL Xarel·lo White 2020

Partida Creus
XL Xarel·lo is a smoky, explosive, lively, and mineral white wine that is also characterized by excellent drinkability and conviviality combined with uncommon depth and persistence. Classified as a Vino de Mesa (table wine), this is a classic white from the Partida Creus estate that offers a pure and typical expression of the native Catalan grape variety Xarel·lo. It is a good introduction to this winery's many vintages, as it is so representative of their style. Pair XL Blanco with seafood, fish, white meats, and roasted or grilled poultry.

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Partida Creus is an important estate, both from a winemaking and historical perspective—we are talking here 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.

Vino Rosato Rosé 2021

Corva Gialla
Here is Vino Rosato, a beautiful Italian wine from the Lazio region whose pretty light pink color heralds pleasant floral notes on the nose and palate: rose, red fruits, citrus, acidity, and a touch of bitterness on the finish, reminiscent of grapefruit peel, which gives it a lot of charm. It is a blend of Montepulciano and Sangiovese grapes. The Montepulciano harvest macerates for 48 hours on the skins before being pressed, while the Sangiovese is pressed directly at the entrance to the winery. The musts are then fermented together in fiberglass vats where they are further refined until bottling in March. Vino Rosato will suit everything you want from a rosé, and more: its purity and balance raise it above the standard image of summer rosés. We recommend it in any season and particularly with food.

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The Azienda Corva Gialla ("yellow crow") is a winery 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 Cività di Bagnoregio. Alta Tuscia is proving to be 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-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.

Cyprès de Toi Blanc 2021,

Cyprès Base
Wonderfully balanced, taut, yet affable, this all-Chardonnay first delivers a basket of white fruits—ripe and crisp nashi pear, cottage garden pear—which quickly give way to exotic notes on the mid-palate: a delicate touch of mango and apricot. In the background, wild thyme, thyme, garrigue, a hint of fig leaf and fresh lemon. A broad and generous palette that lends itself to any occasion. Shaped by the limestone and blue marl soils of Escales, vinified and aged in stainless steel vats, this wine is seductive, dazzlingly fresh and delicious enough to evoke the most diverse culinary pairings.

To find out more
This Corbières estate is built on solid foundations: its two winemakers, Rodolphe and Laetitia, are also descendants of winemakers. Even before planting their first vine, they already had a clear objective: "to produce southern wines that reflect us, wines with character attached to our soils, with freshness and refined tannins." They want to obtain entirely natural wines, concentrates of terroir. In the heart of the old Corbières massif, they took over an old estate already planted with abandoned Carignan and Grenache vines, which had not seen any fertilizer or pesticides for years: these clean and vibrant soils were ideal conditions for launching into natural wine. Around this historic heart, they first planted Grenache Noir and Syrah, then a plot of white grape varieties: Viognier, Grenache Blanc, Roussanne. The estate has been Ecocert certified since 2010 and also complies with the Nature & Progrès charter. Vinification is carried out without the addition of sulfites or exogenous yeasts. "We make wines for pleasure," say Laetitia and Rodolphe. For them, natural wine is first assessed by taste, from the harvest. The vintages closely follow the plots, the musts are fruity, fluid, and complex. Fond Cyprès wines poetically evoke the estate's ecosystem and the vegetation that protects the plots: pine forests, shaded springs, the beauty of the natural environment that brings freshness to the wines and leaves the signature of the soil. Deliciously balanced between mineral imprint, plant environment and fruit expression, Fond Cyprès wines reflect the South: the caress of its sun, but also the freshness of its shadows.

Es d'aqui Nino Red 2016

Jean Louis Pinto

A 100% Braucol from the Gaillac region! On the palate, this wine, which may seem austere in its early years, eventually develops a vegetal side, notes of candied fruit, and beautiful tannins. The attack is rustic and earthy, the finish fruity and complex.

Version Sud Rouge 2020

Fréderic Cossard
A beautiful, silky ruby ​​color, an intense nose of fruit and Mediterranean plants, and a profusion of red and black fruits with great freshness on the palate: this 100% Grenache comes from clay-limestone soil near Vaison-la-Romaine (Vaucluse), vinified for two weeks in whole bunches and aged for one year in concrete eggs. A true southern wine in the hands of a Burgundian virtuoso.

Learn more
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 counter-example 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 trading house and bought 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, as vintages are made from grapes purchased in the Jura, Languedoc, and elsewhere. At his farm, the soil and vines are worked as naturally as possible: regular horse-drawn ploughing, no addition of chemical fertilizers or weedkillers. The vines are tended according to biodynamic principles: 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 sought-after wines, which sometimes require waiting.

Cuvée Carignan Rouge 2021

Fréderic Cossard
Here is a red wine from a southern grape variety vinified by a Burgundian master: Frédéric Cossard here takes on Carignan from the South, conveying its virtues with his usual dexterity. The blend includes a little Mourvèdre. Peppery, spicy, fruity (cherry), notes of undergrowth and well-integrated tannins, it is a delicious and fresh wine for all occasions.

To find out more
Through his entirely natural work, Frédéric Cossard gives voice to the terroirs and Burgundy wines, undeformed by agricultural chemicals. Having observed, during his years of trading, the existence of harmful viticultural practices, the winemaker used this counter-example 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 trading house and bought 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, as vintages are made from grapes purchased in the Jura, Languedoc, and elsewhere. At his farm, the soil and vines are worked as naturally as possible: regular horse-drawn ploughing, no addition of chemical fertilizers or weedkillers. The vines are tended according to biodynamic principles: 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 sought-after wines, which sometimes require waiting.

Auxerrois Origin Blanc 2021

Jean-Marc Dreyer
Auxerrois, also known as Pinot Blanc, is a typically Alsatian grape variety that forms the basis of this Auxerrois Origin from Jean-Marc Dreyer. Floral, fresh, and seductive, it is both atypical and indulgent, well-defined by the maceration process, which gives it a distinguished texture. Its alcohol content is quite generous (14% alcohol). Whole-bunch maceration gives this dense and dry wine, with its delicious salinity, amber tones, floral notes, and sensations of perfect purity. Acorn-fed Ibérico ham would melt with joy alongside it. Jean-Marc Dreyer's Origin range is dedicated to single-varietal wines made using skin-contact maceration based on the six white grape varieties of Alsace: Sylvaner, Auxerrois, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, Riesling, and Muscat. This wine is produced using the biodynamic method, fermented using indigenous yeasts, and is unfiltered and unclarified.

Find out more
"Maceration in Alsace is an ancestral tradition!" 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, with the remainder consisting of direct-pressed whites, aged without coal. 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 the beginning, his wines were more oaky, aged in new barrels with stirring. Then, a 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 decided to no longer add sulfites to his wines. Having made this decision, he asserted his style around skin maceration, quite extensive, chiseled, always surprising on Alsatian grape varieties, whose structure it brings out without sacrificing delicacy. Jean-Marc works in single-varietal or blended vintages and also produces Pinot Noir reds of surprising depth.

Beaujolais Village P'tit Grobis Rouge 2021

Nicolas Chemarin
Nicolas Chemarin's P'tit Grobis Rouge is an incredibly vibrant, fruity, mineral, and taut Beaujolais red, capable of converting even the most reluctant to Beaujolais. This is Nicolas's most personal cuvée, which he named after his local nickname. One hundred percent Gamay from the Beaujolais-Villages appellation, with a light ruby ​​color and elegant gurgling, it represents Gamay Noir à jus blanc at its most enjoyable. Light yet full-bodied, beautifully balanced between fruit and minerality, it offers notes of cherry, morello cherry, and raspberry, while perfectly reflecting the granite mineral substrate so important to Beaujolais wines. Nicely acidic and adaptable to all situations: it is both an aperitif and a tasting wine.

Find out more
Nicolas Chemarin, nicknamed P’tit Grobis as a resident of Marchampt (Beaujolais), is the fourth generation of winemakers on his family wine estate in the Beaujolais-Villages appellation, on a land full of stones where he crafts wines of surprising depth and sincerity. In 2005, he took over two hectares of vines from his father and in 2006 he signed his first vintages. In 2008, he acquired other vines and decided to devote himself solely to his estate, whose terroir, very steep, consists of rocky and poor soils on a gray granite rock. The vines rest on the bedrock through very thin soil, and their roots plunge deep into the rock. Depending on the soil configuration, the vines are pruned in goblet 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 vintages undergo long macerations (from 18 to 30 days) with punching down and temperature control (Nicolas works cold, around 20°C). Aging is partially done in temperature-controlled 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 oaky sensation. Nicolas Chemarin is already well known in the natural world for his sweet and fruity vintages, pleasure wines, and for vintages from difficult and magnificent terroirs, with admirable and complex mineral, aromatic and spicy notes.

Cul Sec Blanc 2020

Thierry Alexandre
A splendid wine, sumptuously fine and fresh—and it's a Vin de France. The texture is silky and rich, with notes of fresh apple and white peach. Great elegance and purity, a magnificent balance between fruity, floral, and mineral notes. Produced biodynamically and under the Vin de France appellation, Cul sec blanc is the faithful expression of its terroir in the northern Rhône Valley: it is made from Viognier and Marsanne grown biodynamically on granite and gneiss soils in Saint-Jean-de-Muzols, on the banks of the Ardèche near its mouth. The harvest is entirely manual, in small containers, and no inputs are used in the vineyard or the winery. The grapes stay in a cold room while awaiting direct pressing, which is done slowly and gently to extract the best from the fruit. This step is followed by settling, after which the must goes into stainless steel vats to ferment with natural yeasts. The aging is one year, also in stainless steel vats.

To find out more
Thierry Alexandre produces little (two hectares in Saint-Jean-de-Muzols, in Ardèche, and a few vines north of Crozes-Hermitage), but he produces well and carefully, all biodynamically and without additives in the vineyard or cellar. His bottles are in the Saint-Joseph, Crozes-Hermitage blanc and Vin de France appellations. The grape varieties are typical of this northern Rhône Valley: Marsanne, Roussanne, Syrah, Viognier. The estate rests on quite varied soils, mainly decomposed granite, as well as gneiss, sandy clay and loess. He practices semicarbonic fermentation in whole bunches for fairly long periods and aging, depending on the vintage, in stainless steel or old barrels. His wines are as rare and sought-after as the winemaker is humble and discreet, but there is nothing haughty or inaccessible about them: pleasant, warm, fluid and well balanced between fruit and mineral, they are wines of pleasure that should be reserved for the most friendly gatherings.

On the Rock Again 2020,

Nicolas Chemarin
Deep, mineral, and hyper-complex yet highly drinkable, On The Rock Again presents a purple color with violet highlights. Its nose is floral (violet), carrying notes of wet rock and spices. The attack evokes ripe red fruits (raspberry, cherry). The aftertaste is long and lively with great salinity. The tannins, melted and elegant, give the wine a very pleasant roundness. This Gamay Noir à jus blanc cuvée directly alludes, through its title, to the omnipresent, outcropping rock of the Marchampts terroir, directly transmitting its earthy notes to the Gamay. The minerality of this superb hillside Beaujolais red, classified as a Vin de France, should come as no surprise. We recommend tasting at 12°C and uncorking, or even decanting, half an hour to an hour before serving this wine. The harvest is vatted by gravity, in whole bunches. Vatting lasts fifteen days at a controlled temperature (5 to 18°C), without pumping over. After pressing, the cuvée is aged in vats on fine lees for ten months. Bottled in the waning moon, in August following the harvest, without filtration or the addition of sulfites.

To find out more
Nicolas Chemarin, nicknamed "P'tit Grobis" as a resident of Marchampt (Beaujolais), is the fourth generation of winemaker on his family wine estate in the Beaujolais-Villages appellation, on stony land where he crafts wines of surprising depth and sincerity. In 2005, he took over two hectares of vines from his father and in 2006 he produced his first vintages. In 2008, he acquired other vines 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 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 vintages undergo long macerations (from 18 to 30 days) with punching down and temperature control (Nicolas works cold, around 20°C). The aging is done partially in thermoregulated concrete vats for a third, the remaining two thirds passing into barrels of four to ten wines in order to provide oxygenation but little or no woody sensation. Nicolas Chemarin is already very well known in the natural world for his sweet and fruity vintages, wines of pleasure, and for vintages from difficult and magnificent terroirs, provided with admirable and complex mineral, aromatic and spicy notes.

White Riesling 2020

Domaine Einhart
Riesling, the lord of Eastern grape varieties, finds here an expression worthy of its nobility. The color is a beautiful orange-yellow. The initial nose is very refined, slightly musky, with notes of grapefruit and dandelion. The second nose is fresher and mineral, with aromas of thyme, aromatic herbs, and flint. The palate begins with liveliness and beautiful verticality; the minerality is typical of limestone. Dried herbs return before a persistent finish with a remarkable salinity. Light skin maceration is successful in Riesling, and this one is no exception. The twenty-five-year-old vines grow on the muschelkalk (oolitic limestone) terroirs of Westerberg, Molsheimgass, and Fleckstein. The grapes are harvested by hand and then destemmed. Maceration, using indigenous yeasts, takes between four and eight days. Aging on fine lees is ten months in tuns, followed by bottling without filtration. From the vine to the cellar, this wine was made without any additives. Decanting is recommended so that it can spread its wings and express its mineral notes.

Find out more
Located in the northern part of the Alsatian vineyard, horizontally above Strasbourg, the Einhart estate is a ten-hectare family estate whose vines are located on the hillsides that rise between the Alsace plain and the Vosges mountains. The soil is clay-limestone and rich in fossils (muschelkalk, i.e. shell limestone and oolite limestone, and lettenkohle or dolomitic limestone). Since 1990, Nicolas Einhart has been at the helm, now assisted by his son Théo. True to his commitments to the TIFLO association, of which he is co-founder, Nicolas devotes his winemaking work to the protection of the land and biodiversity, winemaking without inputs, the refusal of harmful phytosanitary products and the maintenance of ecological refuge zones. His estate has been certified organic since 2011. Like Jean-Marc Dreyer, he is resolutely moving towards skin maceration and produces white maceration wines (orange wines) in addition to a Pinot Noir red. Entirely manual harvesting, destemming of the bunches, light punching down and delicate pressing are characteristic of the estate, as well as the separate vinification of each terroir, aging on lees and the absence of filtration before bottling. The wines are pure grape, lively, powerful, invigorating, and transcribe the minerality of the very beautiful terroirs of the Vosges foothills.

Vindemiatrix Red 2020,

La Senda
La Bodega La Senda is the creation of Diego Losada, a native of Bierzo, a region in the northwest of the province of León, bordered to the north by Asturias and to the west by Galicia. Pilgrims traveling to Compostela via the Camino Francés or the Camino de Invierno can admire its magnificent landscapes, where ancient vineyards cover the hilltops. Viticulture dates back to Roman times, but the region was so traumatized by the phylloxera crisis that vines were not replanted until the mid-20th century, without massive uprooting, giving these vines an average age of forty to seventy years. Born in Ponferrada, in the northern Bierzo, Diego has never been one for compromise. Resolutely radical, with a passion for freedom and rigor, he first applied this disposition to music in the heavy metal band he formed with his high school friends. It was later to wine that he would devote this same passion, studying organic chemistry at university and learning the scientific aspects of viticulture. But the scientific rigidity and conventional methods he discovered on some of the estates where he worked did not satisfy him. Attracted to a viticulture closer to the land, Diego reclaimed a few plots to showcase the Bierzo terroir as naturally as possible. In 2012, he created the La Senda estate, whose name means "the path," on the outskirts of his hometown. His wines would be like him: honest, frank, natural, and expressive. Not awarded the designation of origin, they are the pure reflection of their soils and their climate, of the personality and energy of their creator.
This very pretty, dense, homogeneous and balanced red, with a beautiful dark color, is composed of Mencia (90%), a grape variety from the Trousseau, and 10% Doña Blanca and Palomino. Unfiltered and unsulfured, it comes from seventy to ninety-year-old vines grown in the north of Bierzo on a homogeneous plot with clay-limestone soils very rich in quartz, at an altitude of 550 meters. The grapes macerate for three to four days in old, unsealed chestnut vats; the wines are aged in French oak barrels for eleven months. This is a magnificent red typical of the earthy style of Bierzo: both dense and fresh, powerful and fruity (red and black fruits), crossed by a breath of smoke, violets and spices. Velvety and fleshy on the palate. For stews and black truffles... This is also an excellent bottle to introduce you to the La Senda style; it will be even more eloquent in a carafe.
Natural wine with no added sulfites.

Sans Ordonnance Rouge 2019,

Les Vignes du Domaine du Temps
This estate is located in Cabardès, a small region of Languedoc that was once a subdivision of Cathar Country. Stretching from the southern slope of the Montagne Noire to the city of Carcassonne, it is bordered to the west by the Lauragais and to the east by the Minervois. Hilly, wild, and rich in Mediterranean flora, it is a preserved ecosystem, especially since the Domaine du Temps, in the Font Juvénal area, is a magical place: around a former 18th-century priory, sixty hectares of forests and scrubland protect thirteen hectares of vineyards on stony clay-limestone soils. The balance between dryness and coolness is a boon for viticulture, with a wide range of grape varieties. In addition to the Languedoc grape varieties (Syrah, Grenache, Roussanne, Viognier, Muscat), Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Sémillon, and Chenin are grown. The estate has been Ecocert certified since 1998, is entirely managed biodynamically, and has been dedicated to natural wine since 2015. The work in the vineyard and cellar is methodical, rigorous, and attentive: only the best grapes are kept, resulting in small yields, and destemming is decided based on the ripeness of the bunch. The reds are vinified using carbonic maceration of individual grape varieties, with the blending taking place before the year's aging. The whites are slowly and gently pressed to extract only the best from the grapes. These precautions produce smooth, controlled wines of great integrity, with very supple tannins. They are fresh, delicious, and expressive.
Made of equal parts Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, it evokes a Bordeaux blend. Yes, but... both varieties grew under the Cathar sun and, in addition to the freshness and seriousness of the Gironde model, offer very different, sunny, and generous notes. Vinification is done in concrete vats after destemming, before aging for twelve months in old barrels. This wine confirms the straightforwardness that is the style of the estate, and the melting tannins are remarkable: no astringency, but fruit, maturity, minerality, a note of plum and salinity on the finish. Fresh, ripe, and balanced, it is a solid barrel that will lend itself to all occasions and all meals.
Natural wine with no added sulfites.

Trepat Beer with Wine 2020,

Cyclic Beer Farm
Packaged in 75 cl bottles so that everyone can satisfy their thirst, the beers from the Barcelona-based brewery Cyclic Beer Farm play between classicism and flights of inspiration, in a contrasting and creative way, in the Catalan style. Based on classic principles and a Belgian fermentation model, the two brewer-winemakers Joshua and Alberto play with ingredients, aromas, and macerations, including cereals, fruits, vegetables, and grape skins from Catalan grape varieties, to achieve flavors reminiscent of an unidentified drinkable object (OBNI). Whether they assert themselves on balance or on a certain controlled dissonance, these beers will never leave you indifferent and will reveal their full potential in the summer heat, served well chilled.
At 4.25% alcohol, Trepat is part of the Cyclic Beer Farm 2020 Wine Ales series, which also includes Garnatxa, Carignan and Xarel·10. They are fermented with the marc of local grape varieties. All the grapes are organic and harvested by hand before being pressed or macerated for the production of wines. The resulting marc (skins and stems) is then added to already fermented and aged beers, selected for each type of grape variety. A maceration of one to six months follows to allow the residual sugar to complete its fermentation and the character of the grape variety to be communicated to the beer through infusion. Before bottling, brewers decide whether or not to add beer to achieve the desired flavors, based on acidity, the natural taste of the grape variety, tannins, complexity, and drinkability.
Brewers choose beers from three bases: their saison, their sour base (fermented from their blend of lactic acid bacteria and their blend of indigenous yeasts), and their "funky" base (indigenous yeasts and a cocktail of brettanomyces-type yeasts). After blending and bottling, the beers referment and mature for varying lengths of time.
Trepat is brewed with the marc of the local grape variety of the same name, an ancient variety with raspberry notes. It first seduces with a pretty bubble-gum pink color that announces freshness. It is delicious and seductive with its notes of raspberry, blackberry and its finely musky character, like the grape variety that goes into its composition.

Fable Rouge 2019,

Le Raisin Et L'Ange
70% Syrah, 30% Grenache: a typical blend from the southern Rhône Valley, vinified here using spontaneous carbonic maceration. The wine is aged in 30% oak barrels and 70% stainless steel vats. No sulfites are added, and no clarification or filtration is used before bottling. Dense, fresh, and fluid, it is already delicious but will benefit from ageing, up to ten years if you can manage it.

Pause Canon Rouge 2020,

Le Raisin Et L'Ange
Almost entirely Gamay, with ten percent Merlot, all vinified using spontaneous carbonic maceration. No sulfiting, clarification, or filtration at bottling. Dense, fresh, and fluid, it encourages conviviality and good humor. A wine full of fruit, sap, and character that is easy to drink and enjoyable, preferably in pleasant and large groups.

Les Pradels Rouge 2019, Domaine Bois Moisset
Les Pradels is made entirely from Syrah from twenty-year-old vines growing on the pebble and gravel soils of the third terrace of the Tarn, facing east and northwest. The harvest is vatted in whole bunches for an eleven-day carbonic maceration. The wine, made from a blend of free-run juice and press wine, is aged for six months and bottled without filtration. It is fruity and delicious, with notes of red and black fruits: blackcurrant, blackberry, morello cherry.